The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Rose de la Cruz
The Masungi Georeserve in Rizal is a favorite ‘grab’ for venture hunters from both government and private sector, giving the indigenous people and conservation groups a tough battle to preserve the remaining pristine and fragile ecosystem in the threatened conservation area near Metro Manila.
The first formidable threat came in 2023 from no less from the government– with the National Bilibid Prison wanting to relocate there and conduct development projects and build more cemented jungles in the last bastion of nature in Tanay.
Now Masungi is under threat of massive disturbance from a wind farm that Rizal Wind Energy Corp. has been erecting in the site, thereby posing threats to the lives and livelihood of IPs and those tasked with conserving the reforested area.
The Masungi protectors insisted on the preservation of the geopark citing possible other viable alternative sites for the prison.
Though people can go to the georeserve on a limited quota per day for recreation, awareness of the importance of conserving nature, experienced rangers guide them to ensure against despoilation of the natural and reforested areas. The funds generated from visitors are used to maintain the state of the spider webs and rope courses which visitors can use to float above the tropical rainforest canopy.
The two sisters behind the conservation of Masungi– Ann and Billie Dumaliang, founders of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation in 2016– are fighting alongside other conservation and nature groups to ensure that no violative encroachments and destruction take place.
Initiatives of the conservationists are led and funded by Blue Star Construction & Development Corp. and the foundation.
Although the public became aware of Masungi when the foundation was launched in 2016, reforestation efforts dated back to 1996.
The georeserve houses threatened limestone formations, 400 species of flora and fauna (some endemic and some threatened) and restored forest lands that were damaged from decades ago.
Revoke all approved permits
House Deputy Minority Leader Rep. France Castro on Sunday asked the government to revoke all approved permits in the georeserve saying these “could wreak havoc on our fragile ecology” and cause “dangerous floods” to Metro Manila as what happened to Davao de Oro (from unabated mining).
Castro (ACT Teachers partylist representative) asked the House to investigate the “latest encroachment” of drilling activities at the protected site reported by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation, caretaker of the area. These activities are being done by Singapore-based Vena Energy, the mother company of Rizal Wind Energy Corp, which the foundation said has been drilling in area. But Vena insisted it had all the necessary permits, including the environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the study on the potential of wind energy, the Inquirer reported.
Castro said “It is essential to prioritize the preservation of our natural heritage and biodiversity over industrial interests that could irreversibly damage the ecosystem.”
“The drilling inside the Masungi Karst Conservation Area for the planned wind energy farm poses a severe threat to the environment, particularly endangering the local bird and bat species as well as the delicate ecosystem of the area,” Castro said, reaffirming earlier assertions by the foundation.p
“Congress should also investigate this latest encroachment in the protected area [because] when portions of it are destroyed then it would take thousands of years to restore,” she adde
Castro remarked that it seemed businessmen were very intent on infiltrating the Masungi Georeserve, “using all kinds of excuses to unscrupulously profit from its natural resources,” Inquirer said.
She asked for a review of the project’s impact on the environment and wildlife, as she called on authorities to prioritize conservation efforts over industrial development.
“We urge the government to heed the concerns raised by environmental advocates and take immediate action to protect the Masungi Georeserve from irreversible harm,” Castro appealed.