MORE THAN 60 accredited mountain guides and porters of the Sta. Cruz Trail to Mt. Apo recently completed a ‘retooling’ course as part of the capability-building program of the Sta. Cruz municipal government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao Region (DENR XI). The course covered a refresher on ecology and ecosystem, the Mt. Apo General Management Plan, a presentation of the biodiversity monitoring systems report, and the Unified Trekking Policy, among others. Sta. Cruz Senior Tourism Officer Julius R. Paner, in an interview last week, said they recorded 3,010 climbers for the period June 2017 to April 2018, hiring 651 guides and 1,050 porters. “Despite a very regulated climbing activity, we have reached this figure,” Mr. Paner said, noting the continued popularity of the country’s highest peak among mountaineers. Mt. Apo, a declared protected area, is part of the Department of Tourism’s “Highland to Island” campaign. Mr. Paner said Mt. Apo continues to be major tourism revenue earner for the town. — Maya M. Padillo

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