Vice President Sara Duterte dared Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to a hiking challenge dubbed “Love Mt. Apo” and help clean the trails up of the country’s highest peak.
The vice president bared that she and the senator have recently discussed the possibility of climbing Mt. Apo this coming Undas, but because of her busy schedule, she instead invited him for a tandem hike in Luzon.
“Napag-usapan namin ni Senator Bato Dela Rosa na akyatin ang Mt. Apo ngayong darating na holiday sa Undas, pero dahil sa nagbago ko na schedule, nasabi ko na sa Luzon nalang kami mag-tandem hike sa susunod na walang pasok,” she said.
Duterte bared that she has climbed Mt. Apo four times with the latest being in May this year. She said it was challenging specially since she had a cough at the time and their climb took longer because of the frequent breaks.
“Nag-umpisa kami ng 5:00 AM at nakaabot sa tuktok ng 7:00 PM. Lalo itong naging mahirap dahil sa kakulangan ng ilaw sa gabi at sa lamig na halos katulad na ng temperatura tuwing winter. Nakakalungkot dahil nakapulot din ako ng maraming non-biodegradable wastes sa daanan,” she said.
Last week, the vice president shared her experience climbing the Osmeña Peak and Lugsungan Peak in Cebu City.
For those who want to hike, the vice president has two reminders: prepare the physical body by stretching and brisk walking; and second, don’t leave trash, especially plastic, on the mountain.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dela Rosa accepted the challenge of the vice president on Saturday.
“Yes Maam VP Inday Sara, I am honored to accept your challenge. In fact maam, it’s good that our planned Mt. Apo expedition this month was nixed due to conflict of schedule but actually it was just timely since I injured my left calf(partial tear) in my preparation. I did treadmill everyday despite my being overweight that resulted to the injury. Hulat lang ka maayo ni maam kay katkaton nato na,” he said in his Facebook page post.
