Mount Manunggal

Mount Manunggal
Mount Manunggal is located in Visayas
Mount Manunggal
Mount Manunggal
Mount Manunggal is located in Philippines
Mount Manunggal
Mount Manunggal
Highest point
Elevation982 m (3,222 ft)
Coordinates10°27′11″N 123°48′54″E / 10.45306°N 123.81500°E / 10.45306; 123.81500
Geography
CountryPhilippines
RegionCentral Visayas
ProvinceCebu
City/municipalityBalamban

Mount Manunggal is the third-highest peak in the island of Cebu after Osmena Peak and Lugsangan Peak. It is located in Barangay Magsaysay in Balamban, Cebu province, rising 982 m (3,222 ft) above sea level.[1] It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo that killed President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others on March 17, 1957.[2]

History

Mount Manunggal is within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape and is protected by Republic Act 9486, otherwise known as the “Central Cebu Protected Landscape Act”; which also covers the Mananga-Kotkot-Lusaran river system, the Sudlon National Park and the watersheds of Buhisan, Mananga and Lusaran.[3]

It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo which killed President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others on March 17, 1957.[2] An annual trek is held here to commemorate his death. The site is accessible through many trails but the trail from Tagba-o and at Cantipla in Tabunan, Cebu City is the main route from which the yearly Pres. Ramon Magsaysay Death Anniversary Climb is held.[4]

Accessibility

The trail to Mount Manunggal from the jump-off point at the river that separates Cebu City from Balamban is quite steep and takes between 2 and 7 hours to traverse. The trail to Mount Manunggal from Tagba-o is absent of forest canopies and wildlife, and traverses through many upland farms planted with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, eggplants, cabbage, carrots, etc. It is wide enough to let two persons pass by each other at its narrowest part and there are no prominent barriers which impede movement.

Water resources abound within the foot of the mountain like rivers, springs and waterfalls.

Monument

Pres. Ramon Magsaysay monument on Mt. Manunggal

At the campsite, the monument to President Magsaysay and the cylinder block of one of the Pinatubo's engines remind visitors of the historical value of Manunggal in Philippine history. A chapel, erected nearby during the height of a communist insurgency in the 1980s, guides the local inhabitants' spiritual yearning.[5]

On April 24, 2012, the crash site was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

References

  1. ^ "Mt. Manunggal: A Must-Visit Peak in Balamban, Cebu". Suroy.ph.
  2. ^ a b "Visitors trek to Magsaysay crash site". Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 18, 2012. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "Republic Act No. 9486". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  4. ^ Maria Eleanor E., Valeros (March 19, 2007). "Remembering Magsaysay on Mt. Manunggal". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  5. ^ http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2008/06/mt-manunggal-1003.html Archived January 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Monument of Ramon Magsaysay in the Mount Manunggal