Group slates race to save Visayan Warty Pig
SIBALOM, Antique – The Sangguniang Kabataan of Salvacion – in partnership with the Barangay Council of Salvacion and Agaton R. Grasparil III – will conduct a run named “Dalaganay para sa Pag-amlig kang Baboy Talunon 2010” in the morning of February 5, 2010, starting at 7:00 a.m. The route starts in Cubay Napultan and ends in Salvacion, passing through the barangay proper of District I, District II, District III, Villahermosa, Iglanot and Igdalaquit.
“Dalaganay para sa Pag-amlig kang Baboy Talunon 2010” is primarily intended to promote public awareness on the need to conserve the Visayan Warty Pig (scientific name: Sus cebifrons), a widely misunderstood and critically endangered species that is endemic to the Greater Negros-Panay Ecoregion, and, fortunately, can still be found in Sibalom. The run is secondarily intended to promote running among the public as a means to attain physical well-being.
The top ten placers will each receive a certificate of recognition, a cash prize, a specially-designed tee shirt, and a fruit tree seedling.
The conduct of a Salvacion-bound run is an annual activity that was started a few years ago by then Sangguniang Kabataan Chairperson Alejandro M. Alentajan Jr. upon the suggestion of Agaton R. Grasparil III. Beginning with this year’s edition which was conducted last February 6, 2009, the run became a public relations campaign to promote the conservation of a critically endangered species.
The Sangguniang Kabataan of Salvacion, the Barangay Council of Salvacion, and Agaton R. Grasparil III decided to open next year’s edition not just to Sibalomnons but also to San Remigionhons because San Remigio’s cooperation is crucial in successfully addressing some of Sibalom’s environmental concerns, including the management of the Sibalom River Watershed and the conservation of the Visayan Warty Pig; the forest of Sibalom, which can be found at the Sibalom Natural Park, is unfortunately isolated from the relatively vast forest of Central Panay Mountains – a forest that straddles San Remigio, seven other municipalities in Antique (Valderrama, Bugasong, Laua-an, Barbaza, Tibiao, Culasi and Sebaste), six municipalities in Iloilo (Igbaras, Leon, Alimodian, Maasin, Janiuay and Lambunao), two municipalities in Capiz (Tapaz and Jamindan), and three municipalities in Aklan (Libacao, Madalag and Malinao) – so the wild mammals at the natural park are in danger of in-breeding, and there is a need to facilitate the emergence, through tree-planting and wildlife protection, of a biodiversity corridor that will connect the two forests to each other.
The Sangguniang Kabataan of Salvacion is under the leadership of Renila N. Agustino.