Climb Advisory (Feb 2012): Theft persists in Mt. Sembrano / Hikers beware
PinoyMountaineer.com periodically issues “Hiking advisories” as a form of warning to fellow climbers as regards conditions in various mountains. However, they are a matter of personal opinion and must be read in that light.
It’s been three years since we issued the first climb advisory on Mt. Sembrano, which was followed by two other advisories, dated Jan 2010 and May 2011. Although in the latest advisory, we said that “Sembrano is becoming a safer place”, it is unfortunate that in this new advisory, we will have to reiterate our advice for hikers to beware, because we still hear reports that theft persists in Mt. Sembrano up to the present time.
Reports of recent incidents on February 5, 2012 and November 28, 2011 were posted in the comments in the Mt. Sembrano page in PinoyMountaineer, and we have also heard of some others. It is alarming that even dayhikers can be victimized. From the latest account by Maj Villacorta, it seems that none of the suspects have been arrested or charged in court. This lack of legal action is disconcerting; hikers, especially foreigners, are warned against climbing Mt. Sembrano.
There is a possible safety mechanism, as mentioned by Maj in his comment: “Barangay officials advise mountaineers to have a barangay tanod accompany them throughout the hike to identify and ward out potential thieves.”
I am encouraging all hikers to report any further incidents, or updates about the situation, to help us formulate more advisories in the future. You can update us by commenting on the Mt. Sembrano page, or by emailing me at gideon@pinoymountaineer.com.
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5 Comments on "Climb Advisory (Feb 2012): Theft persists in Mt. Sembrano / Hikers beware"
An update on the security situation at Mt. Sembrano:
http://www.thebackpackersadventures.blogspot.com/2012/08/security-at-mt-sembrano.html
Thank you Sir Gid! and to everyone let's exercise proper vigilance when climbing this mountain.
pwede po bang makuha yung cp no. nang brgy Official sa jump off para mag verify nang actual condition nang area.. balak po kasi namin akyat sa sunday.. salamat..
Pwede po bang mahingi yung contact no. nang kahit sino sa Bgry Hall sa jump off.. balak po kasi namin akyatin ang sembrano sa sunday..salamat
theft or any kind of crimes are present everywhere and can happen to anyone.
i also paid a couple of visits to mt. sembrano together with my group but never experienced any kind of 'inconvinence' during our stay.
it is proven and tested that if you left your things regardless of value unattended there is a high chance of it being stolen.
this case always apply to any place not just to mt. sembrano.
let us help promote our mountains.
risks and inconvenience whether man-made or acts of god are part of mountaineering.
my point is we should always be alert and responsible for our things and self and should not point a finger that easily whenever mishaps happen.
ponder this: 'don't be an easy target.'
I experienced theft incident in Mt. Sembrano a few years back. We were at the waterfalls eating our lunch before our descend. There was a kid who arrived, stayed and chatted us for a while.. I unpacked my bag to cook lunch.. Then when I was packing my bag again, I noticed my lexan water bottle was missing, and so was the kid.
Aside from us, it was just the kid who was there.. Who else could it be??