The Rainforest Prayer by Michael Wolf

It is never to late to pray! This pertains in particular to the (remaining) Rainforest and the Mountains here in Puerto Galera; which just happen to be not only our main water reservoir but much more!

Why then to pray for them? Because much prayer is needed to balance the destructive forces which do their evil work here in our mountains and those allowing them to do so! Can we say “Our” mountains? – Well, the prayer that we will share with you reminds us that all comes from God. And, sorry for the reminder; this actually means that what was and is currently destroyed is, first of all, God’s creation. – Who is doing this destruction? Who is to blame? – Many and many more—one might not even think of in the first place. – Ask yourself honestly. Did you or your relatives or friends have any constructions recently? Yes? – What kind of wood did you or they use? Did it come from legal sources or not? If you are not sure, ask the carpenter. Do they have to do lots of planing on the wood because of the rough chainsaw cut? One of the fastest and easiest ways to consume big amounts of illegal wood would be to use it for the roof construction. Not much or no planing is actually needed and once the GI-sheets etc. are mounted, everything is already quite hidden. You also might recall how the wood was delivered and when? – But then, as we contemplate a little further we will know that not only those who buy this kind of wood are to be blamed.

Generally, there are two classes of “players” – those who participate in the “business” and those who just “look the other way”. These we dare to specify in that – there are the Hardware organizers, civil engineers and building supervisors who suggest to builders and homeowners the “cheap” solution. And then there are the politicians, the police, the military and of course, the influential families who allow and accept this kind of “business” or just close their eyes if friends or relatives are involved. Everyone will find it easy to hang onto one alibi or another just so one is free or do nothing about this rather “sensitive” issue (in particular if it serves one’s own interest).  And so, there are those very active players who rent their chainsaws and carabaos or trucks and bancas for these illegal activities. Another point in question, which might also be quite helpful, is “the poor Mangyan story”. When someone tries to tell/sell you this line, just listen but don’t buy it. – And apropos “poor” Mangyan. There are rumors that some of these “poor” Mangyans already own their personal 100,000-peso chainsaws; which gives you a bit of an insight of  how lucrative this kind of “business” can be! And some of these guys can bet high amounts of money every week in the local lottery called the ending games. And as life teaches us, there is usually some truth with all these rumors. – These apparent rumors go hand in hand with observations that these illegal activities of woodcutting, its hauling, selling and buying developed over the last couple of years into a kind of “Glondike Gold Rush” or you may aptly call it “Puerto Galera Mountain WOOD Rush” —better rush and cut, cut, cut before someone else might do it. This is supported by the mere fact that groups of people (no one recognizes nor has ever seen before in the area) go up the mountains not armed with guns but with big chainsaws (often hidden in cement or rice sacks). There are days upon days that up to four or five chainsaws are simultaneously heard in operation; particularly in the Ponderosa area or the slopes of Mt. Malasimbo. Cutting can be heard from 6AM to 6PM and at times up to 10PM even! We suggest that you walk, hike, drive or take your bike up to Ponderosa and listen (let’s say) from the golf-course hole #1— or even hike a little further to the old marble quarry and listen again! Now, where does “the poor Mangyan” story fit in? – All those who worked with Mangyans know their work attitude. They enjoy life much more than work and don’t care much about “hard earned” money as long as they have something to eat. This is not a general statement and exceptions do exist! This trend of thought only serves to support the conclusion that the former “Mangyan business”, of cutting the big trees with huge manual handsaws, was taken over mostly by “clever” Tagalog “businessmen” and their high-tech chainsaws. This has already been happening a couple of years since and is worsening year after year. – So you might ask those who sell/tell the “poor Mangyan Story” what they are not actually “telling” you. And if you should sense some real innocence on their part, please give them an update. Just get us right on this: The average Mangyan may belong to the lowest income class, so to speak, but this is NOT the Reason for the fast depletion of the rainforest. Also, always keep in mind that without buyers there would be no cutting of all these big old hardwood trees nor hear any chainsaws operations in the rainforest. But things are much worse because added to this vicious cycle of cutting hardwood trees comes big-scale kaingin (the slash-and-burn praxis). Why is this?  It can be easily observed that the kaingineros follow the trails of the loggers. They then ask these chainsaw swingers to just cut all the remaining big old trees, which are spared due to their cheaper wood quality, and this is usually done wherever the terrain is not to steep. But this is not all and the whole problem escalates from this point on, because there are some insect species in the forest who just wait to get their “teeth” on all this dead wood. These are (in particular) the termites or locally called the white ants or anay. They not only go for the cut-down trees (if they were not burned in the meantime) but for the dead roots of all the trees cut. The anay lives in the soil and is just eager to change the wooden roots into soil—very loose, soft soil which can be experienced to be even waist-deep in certain areas. – Ever noticed that over the years a hole will appear where a tree was cut and the soil happens to be very soft? Now you know why! –  Well, of course, the kaingineros find all these most ideal planting paradise…but it is only so until it is washed away! Ever wonder why the coastline area gets browner after a strong rain or typhoon? And it seems that there are still people who try to save the corals without tackling the issue of illegal logging and kaingin in the nearby mountains. One cannot simply blame them because the view of the mountains from the lowlands might look alright for the inexperienced eye. They do look all pretty green most of the time. But, only when you go closer (and this may even mean a hike up), will you see that it is mostly bush land, small trees, mostly kakauate and plantations made by the kaingineros. The problem is already huge as it is but what makes it even worse is that the mountains are high wind areas. What does that mean? It means that erosion is rampant! That is why you see so much kogon grass growing all over the Philippines. There is simply not enough soil for trees anymore and if a little tree should succeed to grow anyway, it might just be cut down for firewood or for the charcoal makers because there is nothing else left! Slowly but surely one can now understand and see the bigger and more complete picture.
NOW… just take a minute and imagine in your minds’ eye a lush rainforest with big old mother trees, several hundred years old, flowering and bearing seeds year after year after year. Orchids and ferns cling to them. Many animals roam around; like deers, wild boars, tamaraws, monkeys, eagles, butterflies and many many more. The air is moist. Clouds, rain, mist and sunshine go hand in hand. Many plants and herbs thrive here; some might be still unknown to man and just be endemic to Mindoro or the Philippines. You can see that the whole mountain area is like a huge sponge holding the water and releasing it gently for everyone living at its foothills. – Now, in sharp contrast—think of bald hills just covered with kogon grass. For decades and centuries, Man, mainly because of his greedy nature  (“I want to take/cut it before someone else does…”), has changed almost the entire landscape of this 7000 “Pearls of the Pacific”. We here in Puerto Galera have a little bit of paradise left. A few, only a few of these big old trees are still standing erect and tall. But do we have the brain to keep and treasure them? Can we here make it differently? Yes, we can!  But it requires that we all have the same responsible mindset.

Just as an additional eye-opener, here are some alarming figures: In 1900 the Earth had 30 million species. These species took billions of years of creation and evolution. Now, we have less than half that number – – fewer than 15 million species. And this all happened in an amazingly short span of 100 years mainly because we did not live in harmony with nature. What do you think how many more will vanish and cannot be seen nor experienced by our children and our children’s children? They might only know how the different butterflies look like if they have the chance to go to a zoo. Will the water for them only be desalinated seawater and no longer invigorating mountain fresh water?  Will the rainforest character around Puerto Galera change into rocky, desolate-looking mountains with some grass patches here and there? Do we want to risk floods and mudslides ala Ormoc with every strong rain or typhoon?
Visit White Beach after a strong downpour, for instance, and you will understand and see with your own eyes that strong possibility. – But can we really make it all differently? YES, we can! And EVERYONE can help!  It might take a high amount of ecological awareness, concern, vigilance and active participation in reminding each other of each and everyone’s responsibility towards the preservation of the rainforest—no matter the economic or social background. Yet be aware that there are (as we have said) many individuals wanting to take the easy way out and pretend to be helpless instead to standing up for the rainforest… . But remember how we started this article? – At least everyone can pray. For instance the following prayer:

Dear GOD,
Thank You for our Mountains
and the Forest!
Your Mountains and Your Forest!
GOD please bless them!
Bless the big old Trees,
The Eagles, Deer, Butterflies and Orchids
Bless our gentle Water.
God, please bless with Understanding
All those who go to the mountains
The Loggers
The Kaingineros
The Hunters
The Mountaineers.
As well as all those who are into
Money and earthly Power.
Make them understand that we need
These Mountains and the Rainforest
Not only for us, but for Our Children
and Our Children’s Children as well.
Help Us to live in HARMONY with ALL.
Thank You – GOD!
Amen