Banaue Rice Terraces, also known as Haghang Palayan, is one of the Eight Wonders of the World, It is one of the many things that the Philippines is truly proud of.
It is also among the UNESCO's world heritage site. For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains. The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment.
Locals to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the Rice Terraces. The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which need constant reconstruction and care. In 2010 a further problem was drought, with the terraces drying up completely in March of that year.
To get there from Manila, there are now three bus companies making the direct trip nightly to Manila. If you miss those take a jeepney to Solano (P100, two hours) and pick up a Manila-bound bus there. Most buses to Baguio ply the lowland route via Solano. To take the scenic but perilous highland route (ie via Bontoc and the Halsema Hwy), you must transfer in Bontoc. There are two early morning jeepneys to Bontoc, and a handful of Bontoc-bound buses pass through Banaue throughout the day (about P150, two hours).
Illegal mining in Banaue Rice Terraces.
After repeated denials by Ifugao officials, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has discovered illegal mining activities in at least four sites at the Banaue Rice Terraces.
Engineer George Baywong, MGB-Cordillera Supervising Science Research Specialist George Baywong has found that Poblacion, Nompolia, Baang and Wangwang sites at the more than 2,000-year-old heritage sites in Banaue are being mined by locals illegally.
Earlier, Ifugao officials denied persistent reports of mining activities along the World Heritage Site in Ifugao.
Earlier, mining permits were denied by the MGB on at least two firms- Shipside Inc. and the Horizon Resources Corp.– because their applications were lacking in consent from the local residents.
Reportedly, however, the same firms are trying to ask government to think twice about their applications at the midst of mining operations in the area.
MGB accounts for 106 small scale mining groups in the highland Cordillera. Most are not covered by mining permits.
He said Abra has 14 groups while Apayao has 10, Kalinga with eight, Mt. Province with four, Ifugao with three and Benguet with 67 groups.
Most of the groups in Benguet province are operating illegally in Itogon. The MGB said the town, a site of an ongoing gold rush, is most problematic in terms of small scale mining operations.
MGB claims miners insist on their illegal activities despite orders from government to halt these.
Such a gold rush now, Baywong explains, is being driven by the present high command of gold in the market reaching P2,000 plus per gram.
Gold was earlier pegged only at P300 per gram.
The poverty situation, Baywong admits, forces miners to persist on their activities even without permits and the government’s current ban in zones identified as perilous and tourist areas.
