Since Binurong Point in Baras town was opened to tourists, the primary beneficiary of the influx of sightseers has been the barangay, particularly the barangay council and the barangay tour guides for obvious reasons.
The recent incident in which a cow lunged at a 12-year old girl who was visiting the place along with her family. It is just fortunate that the girl managed to grab the cow’s horns before she was thrown a few meters away, with the tour guide showing the animal away. Nevertheless, the incident proved traumatic for the girl, who barely ate for several days and refused to go to school.
The question now is what the barangay council will do to prevent a repeat of the incident or risk letting its cash cow, pardon the pun, run away.
It must be understood that the entire scenic Binurong area, except naturally for the foreshore, belongs to a private owner, the Sorreta family.
Entry to the sprawling property was made possible through an arrangement between the owner and the barangay council headed by Chairman Emerito Tariman.
It should also be understood that the grassland through which tourists hike to get to Binurong Point has been a grazing land for the Sorreta family’s cows for decades now. Recently, according to knowledgeable sources, the provincial government even asked the Sorretas to allow the use of the grazing land in the administration’s milk production program intended to reduce malnutrition among children in the island.
Rather than ask for assistance from the Department of Tourism, Chairman Tariman should now use part of the barangay’s earnings from the tourist spot and start constructing a fence to separate the grazing cows from human visitors. The fence does not have to be concrete since a bamboo one with wooden posts can serve to provide separation between animals and humans.
Tourist guides who depend on the site and its visitors for their livelihood will not find it hard to volunteer in helping put up the fence.
They should realize that the Binurong property owners can close the area if they so desire and the consequence would be adverse for the barangay and the entire province. (Fernan A. Gianan).
Source: Catanduanes Tribune. Photo credit: www.gocatanduanes.com
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