Land With No Summer Months

By Dexter A. See 

NATONIN, Mountain Province —Rain poured daily for the past 24 years on this mountain town in the rugged Cordillera Region in the northern Philippines, children gave up praying “rain, rain go away” and elders look misty-eyed at lowland areas sweltering under the burning sun,  a senior town official said on Friday.

Mountain town. A panoramic view of rice terraces
in Natonin. DEXTER SEE

Mayor Matteo Chiyawan said the town never experienced summer season in more than two decades and the government could not build and put up  infrastructure projects such as roads and school buildings on the soft ground.
“No development because of the rain. I pity our people for being exposed to too much rain,” Chiyawan said.
Natonin, a fourth class municipality, nestles on the slopes of the Cordillera mountain ranges and have little level ground. The town is surrounded by jungles and rain forests.
The sun shines on the 12,000 Igorot population for about three hours at least four times a month. People earn a living from rice terraces farming, fishing for eels in the rivers, and hunting wild animals such boars and deers.
Chiyawan said too much water in the soil and threat of soil erosion make it difficult for workers to compact the land and implement government public works projects.

A waterfall in one of the rain
forests in the area. DEXTER SEE

He said it takes several hours travel from the provincial capital of Bontoc to Natonin over 74 kms of rough and muddy national highway that winds on the side of the mountain.
Agriculture production has suffered because farmers could not dry their palay and rotting grains became one of the major causes of heavy losses, Chiyawan said.
“The old generation performed rituals to stop the rain with a sequence of prayers together with several animals butchered, but the practice has stopped in the past several years,” Chiyawan said.
The rain forests contribute to the abundant rainfall in Natonin, making its rivers suitable for operation of mini-hydro power plants, which could offer employment opportunities to people in the area.
Gov. Leonard Mayaen said the provincial government has on stand-by heavy equipment for use of Natonin during landslides and soil erosion caused by water saturation on the road.
He said he was ready to respond to any calls for assistance from Natonin municipal officials have handled the situation well and “no problems have been brought to our attention.”
“I am proud of the resilience of the people of Natonin because they are able to survive the prevalence of too much rain and still pursue their own sources of livelihood like raising of heirloom rice, hunting wild animals and being involved in food processing and weaving,” Mayaen said.
Officials appealed on the Department of Public Works and Highways to fast-track concreting of the unpaved portion of the Natonin to Paracelis road to connect the town to Santiago City in Isabela and open new business opportunities for residents.

(C) 2014 Manila Standard