The much anticipated Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge 2016 has been officially cancelled by organizers after a forest fire devastated a part of the mountain, considered the highest peak in the Philippines standing at 2,954 meters above sea level. As the forest fire is still raging up to press time, the safety of the competitors became a prime consideration.

This was confirmed yesterday by  Department of Tourism Asec. Art Boncato as relayed to him by Julius Paner of the Santa Cruz tourism office in Davao.

The LGU budget for said competition will be used to rehabilitate the damage done to its ecosystem and the confirmed sponsors for the event are being requested to do the same. Mt. Apo National Park is one of only two ASEAN natural heritage parks in the country and covers 64, 053 hectares, home to many endemic flora and fauna.

The competition was supposed to be a 24-hour race to the peak involving three disciplines — water tubing, mountain biking, and trail running at a total of 95.1 kilometers. This extreme adventure event was launched by the municipality of Sta. Cruz in 2014.