Mount Manunggal

{{Short description|Mountain in the Philippines}}

{{Use Philippine English|date=January 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Manunggal

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| photo_caption = Hikers at Mount Manunggal

| map = Visayas#Philippines

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| country = Philippines

| state_type = Region

| state = Central Visayas

| region_type = Province

| region = Cebu

| settlement_type = City/municipality

| settlement = Balamban

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| elevation_m = 982

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| coordinates = {{Coord|10|27|11|N|123|48|54|E|type:mountain_region:PH|display=inline,title}}

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Mount Manunggal is the third-highest peak in the island of Cebu after Osmena Peak and Lugsangan Peak. It is located in Barangay Magsaysay in Balamban, Cebu province, rising {{cvt|982|m}} above sea level.{{Cite web |title=Mt. Manunggal: A Must-Visit Peak in Balamban, Cebu |url=https://suroy.ph/mt-manunggal-balamban/ |website=Suroy.ph|date=January 10, 2024 }} It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo that killed President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others on March 17, 1957.

History

Mount Manunggal is within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape and is protected by Republic Act 9486, otherwise known as the “Central Cebu Protected Landscape Act”; which also covers the Mananga-Kotkot-Lusaran river system, the Sudlon National Park and the watersheds of Buhisan, Mananga and Lusaran.{{cite web |title=Republic Act No. 9486 |url=http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno9486.html |website=Chan Robles Virtual Law Library |access-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104171654/http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno9486.html |archive-date=November 4, 2007}}

It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo which killed President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others on March 17, 1957.{{cite news |title=Visitors trek to Magsaysay crash site |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/163435/visitors-trek-to-magsaysay-crash-site |access-date=March 21, 2019 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321082907/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/163435/visitors-trek-to-magsaysay-crash-site?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |language=en}} An annual trek is held here to commemorate his death. The site is accessible through many trails but the trail from Tagba-o and at Cantipla in Tabunan, Cebu City is the main route from which the yearly Pres. Ramon Magsaysay Death Anniversary Climb is held.{{cite news |last1=Maria Eleanor E. |first1=Valeros |title=Remembering Magsaysay on Mt. Manunggal |url=https://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2007/03/19/390362/remembering-magsaysay-mt-manunggal |access-date=March 21, 2019 |work=The Philippine Star |date=March 19, 2007 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321085150/https://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2007/03/19/390362/remembering-magsaysay-mt-manunggal |url-status=live }}

Accessibility

The trail to Mount Manunggal from the jump-off point at the river that separates Cebu City from Balamban is quite steep and takes between 2 and 7 hours to traverse. The trail to Mount Manunggal from Tagba-o is absent of forest canopies and wildlife, and traverses through many upland farms planted with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, eggplants, cabbage, carrots, etc. It is wide enough to let two persons pass by each other at its narrowest part, and there are no prominent barriers which impede movement.

Water resources abound within the foot of the mountain like rivers, springs and waterfalls.

Monument

File:Pres. Ramon Magsaysay monument in Mt. Manunggal, Balamban, Cebu.jpg

At the campsite, the monument to President Magsaysay and the cylinder block of one of the Pinatubo's engines remind visitors of the historical value of Manunggal in Philippine history. A chapel, erected nearby during the height of a communist insurgency in the 1980s, guides the local inhabitants' spiritual yearning.http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2008/06/mt-manunggal-1003.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102131126/http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2008/06/mt-manunggal-1003.html |date=January 2, 2011 }} The Monument of Ramon Magsaysay in the Mount Manunggal

On April 24, 2012, the crash site was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

References

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