The complex ecological problems of Mt. Halcon can’t be fully understood without getting the view of people whose live there—the Mangyans.

In a multi-agency forum held in Calapan City recently, provincial and environment officials recognized the crucial role of the indigenous people of Mindoro in understanding the problems faced by Mt. Halcon, the country’s third highest mountain.

The forum, spearheaded by the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro, was attended by representatives from the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc., Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR and the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP).

Forum participants reviewed the current situation of the mountain, the problem of forest denudation and the perennial flooding in the lowlands of the island.

Occidental Mindoro provincial administrator Angel Saulong stressed the need to come up with recommended solutions to address the problems.

Running from north to south, the 2,586-meter-high mountain creates a natural boundary between the provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. It is home to many members of the island’s seven ethnolinguistic groups of Mangyan.