The Philippine eagles, scientific name: Pithecopaga Jefferyi, are seen in a cage in this photo taken January 20, 2008, in the forest preservation site of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, in Davao City.

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Environmentalists and local officials in Arakan town in North Cotabato have vowed to protect Mount Sinaka by not allowing any logging concession or mining exploration in the area.

Over the weekend, they inked a covenant which affirmed their commitment to defend the mountain “at all cost.”

The signing highlighted the two-day Mount Sinaka Summit held at the Spottswood Methodist Center here that ended Friday.

Arakan Mayor Gerardo Tuble led the signing of a covenant.

Members of the Bantay Kalikasan Alliance Inc., a multi-sector environmental watchdog from five villages around Mount Sinaka, and the Kinaiyahan Foundation Inc., an environmental NGO, also affixed their signatures on the covenant.

Mayor Tuble said Mount Sinaka is threatened by unscrupulous human activities, including illegal cutting of trees.

The secondary forests of Mount Sinaka, according to reports, have been destroyed by the entry of palm oil and banana plantations.

For villagers, the mountain is their source of water and food.

“If we allow logging firms and mining companies to explore our resources and wealth, we let these people destroy our very own life,” said Mayor Tuble.

Last year, the Visayas Ore Philippines applied for a mining permit for more than 11,000 hectares, which cover seven villages of Arakan town, including the barangays of Sumalili, Kulaman Valley, Gambodes, Kabalantian, Binoongan, Napalico, and Katipunan.

But because of strong opposition of the LGUs and other environmental watch groups, including Bantay Kalikasan Inc., the project did not push through. Tuble said the mountain is already declared a protected watershed area.

Based on the Municipal Ordinance No. 12, Mount Sinaka is part of Arakan Municipal Forest Reservation and Wildlife Sanctuary.

There are 13 hardwood species and 89 non-dipterocarps, including Philippine mahogany species, white lawa-an, and rattan which are found in Mount Sinaka. It is also home to the Philippine eagle.

In 1995, an eagle’s nest was found in Mount Sinaka.

Four years later, a female Philippine eagle was caught by a farmer and brought to the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao City for rehabilitation.