Japanese firm joins rehab of rice terraces

By Charlie C. Lagasc

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Another foreign organization has come to the aid of the deteriorating Ifugao rice terraces as a Japanese firm has pledged to help in the rehabilitation of one of the country’s leading tourism destinations. 

Toshiba Information Equipments-Philippines (TIP) has adopted five sections of the erosion-prone stretch of the terraces in support of the provincial government’s “Adopt a Terrace” program.

The five sections – four in Batad and one in Viewpoint, also in Banaue – is part of a cluster of the terraces that Toshiba vowed to restore to their pristine state. 

As an initial effort, company employees led by Isao Morita, TIP executive vice president, and two other ranking officers, Hirofumi Sato and NoboyukiI Nukubo, led tree planting and other related volunteer activities last week in the adopted sites.

The undertaking, part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility program, was held in coordination with the provincial government’s tourism council and culture and heritage office. 

Inspired by the terraces’ grandeur, Morita said their coming to the terraces was “a dream come true” and that they have no regrets contributing to the rehabilitation work.

“The terraces are easy to destroy but very difficult to restore,” he said. 

The firm also gave P20,000 cash assistance to each of the five farmers manning its adopted areas, and conducted environmental awareness among Banaue pupils. 

Ifugao Gov. Eugene Ballitang thanked the firm for its help and expressed hope that others would also join the provincial government-led efforts to rehabilitate the centuries-old terraces.

A Batad section of the rice terraces recently became the recipient of a P2.8- million grant from the Dutch-based private organization Prince Claus Fund.

The terraces’ dying state has been aggravated by intermittent erosions as a result of last year’s successive typhoons and prolonged rainfall. Before this, parts of the slopes had been weakened by huge earthworms.     

The terraces’ deteriorating state, further aggravated by the young Ifugaos’ lack of interest to continue its upkeep, had prompted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to put it on the list of endangered heritage sites. 

Several government and private organizations had also pledged to provide assistance for the rehabilitation of the terraces, once the jewel of the national government’s tourism program. 

Earlier, Balitang had said that some P200 million was needed to restore the terraces back to their picture-perfect condition. 

The Department of Agriculture had committed P50 million for the terraces’ irrigation systems and slope protection measures.

The provincial government also has a pending request with the Office of the President for an additional P20 million for the same purpose. Last year, Sen. Francis Pangilinan and Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat launched the “Save the Terraces Movement” to help generate support for its rehabilitation.