People of the Mountain by: Rufo-Tigs Tidalgo I always have in mind the lyrics of an old nursery rhyme each time I hear about people of the mountain. It portrays images of happy indigenous mountain dwellers. This is fitting in the sense that natives live up there for ages. They still do. But their way of living now is far from what was in the song. Undisturbed they are not anymore as people keeps on poking their nose on their ancestral home. The mountain I want to talk about is Mayapay. It's a topic of conversation lately. Poems are even written about it. It retains to look awesome from afar despite decades of abuse. Farther east of the big river, we see the mountain plateau as a barometer. It is our indicator to determine visibility whether or not planes are able to land and take off at Bancasi Airport. People view the mountain in different perspectives. Some see it from a distance with awe and admiration. Its silhouette against the fading glow of sunset is still breathtaking. It's a postcard picture innate to Butuan's rural landscape. There are also those that look at it in business point of view. Mayapay is just few klicks from city center and it's a multi billion-peso real-estate investment. It's supposedly an open free land though claimed by natives as their ancestral domain. Likewise, there are also numerous private claims that at this juncture are difficult to ascertain. The mountain today is a heart of an argument. It is caught in a tug of war amongst Mayapay advocacies. It is wrapped with a mist of uncertainty that none is so sure about its future. What is apparent however is the ongoing destruction from legal and illegal quarry operators. It is mostly bare from vegetation thereby sturdiness is significantly weakened. Obviously, the quarry scenario is not making it any better. The notion that claims to own a piece of Mayapay is defiled and crooked is absolutely unwarranted. This is uncalled for. This memorial from previous delinquency attracts spirited entrepreneurs to develop it into something gainful and useful. There's nothing awkward with that. Rather than leave it standing in pathetic decay, we may as well turn it into a lucrative investment. It's common for any business minded individual to think this way. This is what the world of business is all about. What is wrong is to add more injury to the mountain from careless enterprises. This is where concern should be. It is entirely unfair to demonize people with present holdings at Mayapay. Some had been on the mountain decades before others have different ideas about it. They have rights and deserve respect. We shall not make them villains for having other vision about the future of the mountain. That's what democracy is all about. This impertinent supposition started to intensity when an idea came up to make the mountain a natural park. A group of out of town Butuanons impregnated this impressive dream. It was a marvelous concept. I stated once before that the dream to make Mayapay a park was not just an easy stroll in the park. That it was likely to encounter entanglements when unforeseen and hidden variables come into play. It appears from recent insight that there are various questions here than answers. There is more up there than what meets the eye. It's likely that this amazing dream would shrivel safely down to just wishful thinking. There's a perceptible need to rethink its logic. Yes, optimist we are and rhetoric is heartening, but reality suggests otherwise. It is unreachable. I was with Victor Magno in upper Bugsukan. I met the leader of the local tribe. He was a young and fairly educated person. He said that problems of the mountain has always been the intrusion of "taga dagat." He meant lowlanders. Unlike the previous invasion of loggers, he strongly asserted that the lumad would protect the mountain with their lives this time around. This was also echoed loudly by young native leaders in Sibagat. The protectionist attitude of the young lumad generation is not predominant to these areas alone. It is all over the mountain ranges as shown in Diwalwal and other places. Mayapay is not an exception. The natives are organized and their sense of humor is very short and touchy when it comes to encroachment on their domain. It is therefore unwise to make the natives restless by turning their ancestral land into a public park for the satisfaction of taga dagat. The lumad issue is just one of many. Lately, a conversant former vice governor of Agusan revisited the mountain after forty years. He revealed to public awareness the names of people with claims at Mayapay. He listed the following: Congressman Leovigildo Banaag, Mayor Democrito Plaza Jr, a certain Mr. Gorme, Dy Teban, a certain Dumago, Gill Cembrano, Choleng Montalban, Bartolome Sanchez Jr., Vicente Lagnada and the Lasams. I reiterate to say that ordinarily, there's nothing untoward about these claims. The Lasams confirmed that nice things seen on the mountain today are partly the outcome of how they cared about the ecological system of the place. It is however unavoidable to hear wild whispers to claims owned by politicians. It is somewhat difficult to postulate that conflict of interest has no bearing upon knowing how politics behave in the region. The bill in congress authored by Mr. Leovigildo Banaag to make Mayapay a natural park may just gather molds in the archives when the good congressman's term of office is over. It has been experienced how successors react towards projects of past administration. The Multi Purpose Building of ANHS and the Sport Complex in Libertad are good examples. It comes to reason that vivacity and willingness of a new seated politician to assume foregoing public responsibilities is in euphemism reliable and lasting as the war cannon of Pastor Ago.