Monday, May 11, 2015

City govt, mountaineers to preserve Sanchez Peak

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (5 May 2015) – The city government has teamed up with different mountaineering clubs to protect one of the city’s popular eco-tourist spots.

On April 30, the City Mayor’s Office, City Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office, Human Resource Management and Development Office, and Gensan Tourism Council met mountaineering organizations in the city and discussed how they can partner to preserve Sanchez Peak.

Sanchez Peak is located in the boundary of Barangay Olympog and Barangay Conel. It is a popular tourist climbing and trekking destination in Gensan.

It is 800 meters above sea level and dubbed as Gensan’s highest peak as it offers a scenic view of the city, Sarangani Bay and Mt. Matutum.

Its popularity has been gaining momentum, attracting many local and foreign tourists.

Sanchez Peak has also been featured in national dailies such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Sunstar.

Along with Sanchez Peak’s fame, cases of littering and disruption of the flora and fauna of Sanchez Peak have been steadily rising though.

The meeting was originally set by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera to find immediate sustainable solutions to the problem, with help from mountaineers who regularly climb the area.

Out of their consensus, they agreed to do a thorough clean-up drive of Sanchez Peak on May 8 and 9. This activity coincides with the 2nd National Mountain Clean-Up Day.

Aside from that, the mountaineering groups were also consulted regarding an executive order that is already being drafted for stricter policies for the protection, conservation, and promotion of Sanchez Peak.

The local government is also planning to institutionalize partnership with the mountaineering groups and include them in the technical working group that will manage Sanchez Peak. (Gensan CPIO/Sharmagne Villacastin and Ian John Lagare)

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