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Mt. Pinatubo: Case Study on Poverty Reduction Through Tourism

CASE STUDY ON POVERTY REDUCTION THROUGH TOURISM
(Entry to the World Tourism Organization Compendium of Best Tourism Practices)

Name of Project: MT. PINATUBO ECOTOURISM “KABUHAYAN SA TURISMO” PROJECT

Location of the Project: Brgy. Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac, Philippines

Description and Background of the Project:

The location of the project known as Sta. Juliana village is on the western side of the province of Tarlac –
some 21 kilometers from the main highway (town market) of the town of Capas or some 129 kilometers
north of Metro Manila. It is the farthest barangay west of the town of Capas. The village figured quite
prominently during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June of 1991 when the precarious streambed called O’
Donnell river channel endangered the lives of its local populace. On account of its precarious position on the
lahar flow pattern, government volcanologists and disaster coordinating officials sounded the alarm for all
residents to vacate the endangered community. As a consequence of these warning signals, the village
hardly ever received any social and economic assistance from the local and national government and was
subsequently de-prioritized from the list of infrastructure development projects of the province. Rampaging
volcanic mudflow from Mt. Pinatubo is prone to overtop the riverbanks during rainy days, so they say.

In fact the construction of a local school building that was started the previous years was aborted
immediately following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Even the construction of a road towards the village was
stopped altogether including telecommunication system, among other projects.

Almost 11 years following the volcanic upheaval, the tiny village of Sta. Juliana remains unperturbed and is in
fact spared from the attacks of mudflows cascading from the volcano. Confident of their fortune, people
started to rebuild their lives out of the debris spewed by the volcano, eking a living from volcanic debris and
later on out of the remaining bounties from their farmlands. People began to gather volcanic rocks and
stones for sale to traders from the town center. In spite of their newfound livelihood, hardly ever can people
make both ends meet. Absence of farm-to-market roads and telecommunication made things more difficult.

The poverty-stricken community of about 3,000 people is populated by about a thousand native inhabitants
known as Aetas – an indigenous population that used to live close to the hills of Mt. Pinatubo where resides
a deity they call “Apo Namalyari”, the Great Protector and Provider and home to spirits of their ancestors.

These native inhabitants bore the brunt of the 1991 eruption. It covered much of their agricultural lands -
rendering them useless for farming. Now they are prone to seek government assistance for their survival. In
the absence of government support, these nomadic tribes are bound to venture into the lowland (urban
centers) to seek alms from motorists on busy street corners.

It was in April 2000 when the Department of Tourism – Region III took notice of a sudden influx of foreign
and local tourists to the village. Reports showed that visitors to the community brave the hot mid-day sun to
trek the upper reaches of the O’ Donnell river channel and onto the crater of Mt. Pinatubo. The village was

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indeed on its way to becoming popular as the gateway to the crater of Mt. Pinatubo – a convenient jump-off
point for tourists.

Villagers dismissed the unexpected intrusion of visitors as being an ordinary turn of events.

Thru the initiative of the Philippine Department of Tourism – Region III, however, people started considering
the idea of establishing the foundation through which the community could generate economic benefits
from travel and tourism. Consultations were made with the officials of the village political organization
including the members of the indigenous community.

The village council members were encouraged to organize themselves into a tourism council that they later
called STA. JULIANA TOURISM COUNCIL, INC. The said body was organized with membership coming from
the community leaders and elders of the indigenous community. They were formed to later on handle the
management and operation of the ecotourism project. In September of the same year the tourism regional
office started conducting orientation seminars on general tourism, its benefits to local host community
including the strategies of ecotourism in general. Subsequent training programs on mountain guiding
techniques including homestay program were introduced. People were made to realize the potential
benefits of ecotourism, its implication to visitor education, community development and environmental
protection and conservation.

Guide Questions:
1. What were the problems encountered by the villagers of Sta. Juliana following the eruption
of Mt. Pinatubo?
2. What efforts did the Philippine Department of Tourism extend to Sta. Juliana Tourism
Council, Inc.?
3. What other efforts can the villagers of Sta. Juliana do to further benefit from the sudden
influx of foreign and local tourists to the village?

Source: http://www.visitmyphilippines.com/index.php?title=mt.pinatubo:casestudyonpovertyreductionthroughtourism&func=all&pid=5578&tbl=0

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