Save The Banaue Rice Terraces

By CECILIA S. ANGELES

Photo By Cecilia S. Angeles

MANILA, Philippines — Time travels so fast or so slowly that I personally think some traditions should not go with it in the same speed. We have observed the growth of living and non-living things. For example, some rice fields have been converted into residential areas. Man effects this change. Nature is also capable of bringing about change, and together with man sometimes change becomes advantageous.  At other times, disastrous.

Together with some Photo World Asia 2012 participants and Photography with a Difference (PWD) members led by John Chua, we recently toured Banaue in connection with a campaign to restore the 2,000-year-old rice terraces, particularly the damage in Batad brought about by landslides.

Some areas which used to be layered mountains covered with greenery now accommodate multi-story public and private buildings like schools, markets, apartments, stores, hotels and government offices. The original triangular roof homes of the ifugaos have become very few.  A stolen peep at its interior shows electronic gadgets like television, a screen, lap top, radio and other modern electronics.  Yes, I had no problem with my cell phones. Despite heavy drizzles, road construction by deep tangerine-clad construction workers continues everywhere.  So it was a matter of a leisure drive along smooth, concrete roads intercepted every now and then by sticky, muddy sections of the unfinished winding road construction.

Banaue goes with the current change in economic, social, physical or whatever development a particular place undergoes.  This is normal.  But to forget or wipe out or let go of a precious heritage like the 2,000-    year-old Banaue Rice Terraces, a declared UNESCO Heritage Site, is absurd.  It must be preserved.  It must be saved. Yes, nature simply does not cooperate . . . sometimes.  It hurls heavy rains, or breeds worms that loosen the soil which cause the destructive landslide.

In fact, our initial intention was to visit Batad on our second day of stay.  We toured nearer areas first, particularly Bangaan and Hungduan. We went to the various viewpoints in these places where every click of our shutter captured breathtaking compositions of the rice terraces. The trek down the steep terraces to reach the Ifugao towns was labored and dangerous, but to think of the very warm reception and program including the lunch the villagers prepared for us, the foot travel was very rewarding.  Climbing uphill was a tremendous effort. A one meter bamboo pole kept my balance.

Going back to our hotel, we received a text message that there was a landslide that blocked the road we just passed by, trapping the mayor and his group in another vehicle who accompanied us to the villages.  Because of this, our schedule to Batad did not materialize.  This does not stop our desire, our campaign, our hope to save the precious heritage of the Filipinos. It can be done with the love and collective efforts of the local and national government, the natives and the Filipinos with a concerned heart like John Chua who had initially transported construction tools for the natives to use in the massive repair
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