Bantay Banahaw for this Holy Week

More or less 150 volunteers from the Tau Gamma Fraternity are at Mount Banahaw for the project “Bantay Banahaw” since April 1, 2012 to April 8, 2012.

Triskelion City Lions are members of this fraternity but 25 members are based as volunteers under Mayor Joaquin Chipeco Jr at the City Hall. The group is one of 13 organizations that comprise the yearly “Bantay Banahaw,” volunteers tasked to assist Holy Week pilgrims, visitors or devotees and ensure they stay within the allowed areas or campsites at the foot of the mountain, which was declared a national park and a protected area in 1941.

According to Ogie Dizer, the group provides medical team, first aid kit, Body harness, spine board and ropes. Last March 24, 2012, the group already prepared everything for this Holy Week event. According to Arnold Medina, there are 30,000 members of their fraternity at Calamba City. They Organized this group to become identified and to change the image of Fraternity at Calamba City. They are helping the community in all way possible. After Holy week they will conduct Blood letting, 24/7 monitoring on Dengue with coordination of the City Health Office under Rodolfo Khan and Libreng gupitang pambayan.

The group also provide assistance to travelers, implement national rules which is tie up with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) to make sure the surrounding area are clean, provides medical support with rescue team and to make sure only opened areas such as Santa Lucia, Kalbaryo, Tatlong Tangke and Kinabuhayan will be visited. Restricted places are Unang Dungaw, Pangalwang Dungaw at Pangatlong Dungaw which are the highest peak of the mountain. Filipinos are still compose of Catholics and for this Lent, it’s a culture and common to visit Mount Banahaw which according to many could heal the soul and a miraculous place.