Please spread the word: Irresponsible INQUIRER articles saying that Pulag is closed beginning to affect Kalanguya tribes. This is not true! Mt. Pulag is open.

by Gideon Lasco
Three days ago, the PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER ran an article headlined "Mt. Pulag off limits to trekkers". Today, the same news was recycled, this time saying that Mt. Apo too is being closed. Neither is true. Mt. Pulag is wide open and my contacts in Mt. Apo say that although a move is being contemplated, it has not yet been formalized. In the case of Mt. Pulag, although the Kabayan town council wants to close the park, they cannot do so because they only control part of the park. In fact, most visitors who go to Mt. Pulag don't even get to reach Kabayan because the most commonly used trail (Ambangeg) only passes by the town of Bokod. As of now, the PAMB sees no reason to close the mountain. The forest fires

Although the same INQUIRER article acknowledges the DENR statement that only a PAMB decision is binding, why did they headline the article contrary to the content of their news? Sure, a headline that says "Mt. Pulag is closed" would attract more attention, but is this how news is being done nowadays? This irresponsible news is not only an academic violation. It has implications to real people.

Indeed, the perception of Mt. Pulag's closure is beginning to affect a lot of individuals. Many Kalanguya high school students depend on the income from their guiding on weekends as a means of sustaining their education. And since a bulk of visitors come during summer, they look forward to this season as a way of earning hard-earned money. Since newspapers barely reach their town, they were surprised, shocked, and really distressed to hear that a lot of people think that the park is closed when in fact they are waiting and ready to receive and guide visitors.

There are also medical missions and related projects being planned for Mt. Pulag this summer. Now the organizers are contemplating on cancelling their plans because of the said closure. Of course, the potential beneficiaries of this act of goodwill would be on the losing end.

Then there are also mountaineers who look forward to visiting one of the country's most beautiful mountain. They too are asking if the news is true, they've booked their flights already, they've filed their leaves.

All because of an irresponsible, misleading news article.

The issue here goes beyond the merits of closing Mt. Pulag. The fact is, Mt. Pulag is still open, and responsible media ought to be reporting facts, not catchy headlines. Until such time that the PAMB decides the close Pulag (if at all they will), reporting otherwise is a gross violation of journalistic ethics.

I am calling on the Philippine Daily Inquirer to rectify their misleading news article on Mt. Pulag. You are still the most respected newspaper in the country. Do not disappoint us.