The Secrets of Masungi's Limestones

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Something tiny and slimy is crawling on the wet and jagged surface of the mountainside: a microsnail, the size of a grain of rice. Measuring just 4 millimeters long, the Masungi microsnail is the newest species of snail in the world. Scientists think it is found nowhere else in the Philippines or the world.

The Masungi microsnail is just one of the many secrets of Masungi’s limestone cliffs—whose unique ecosystem provides just the right conditions for even more unique species to thrive. The limestones were formed 60 million years ago—a blink in the geologic timescale—just after the dinosaurs were wiped out by a planet-destroying meteor strike.

A Masungi Microsnail the Size of a Grain of Rice

PHOTO: Masungi Georeserve

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If you look up close, you will see fossils embedded in the limestones of Masungi. They also contain broken pieces of coral, shells, and other sediments from the sea. But the limestones are 600 meters above sea level, why are there shells and corals preserved inside the limestones?

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The Masungi Limestones formed mostly during the Paleocene epoch 60 million years ago. These formations rose from the ocean through the meeting of tectonic plates—the same geologic activity that formed the great Sierra Madre mountain range. Masungi Georeserve is actually part of the Sierra Madre. Because of its proximity to the city, the Masungi Georeserve and its limestone cliffs act as Metro Manila’s last-standing shield against typhoons and climate change.

Up Close: The Masungi Limestones

PHOTO: jilson tiu

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“By definition, limestone is a kind of sedimentary rock formed with different kinds of minerals, including calcite, corals and other organisms' exoskeletons,” writes Masungi. That means every limestone formation in Masungi contains vast amounts of unique information about the earth 60 million years ago.

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Ann and Billie Dumaliang and Their Fight for Masungi

Why Are Powerful People Seeking to Exploit Masungi Georeserve?

Masungi’s name comes from the ancient Tagalog word “masungki” or “sungki,” which means something sharp and protruding, describing the landscape that features jagged cliffs and limestone peaks.

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Throughout its existence, the Masungi Georeserve Foundation has ensured the survival of over 400 species of flora and fauna, protected 60-million-year-old limestone formations, planted 40,000 indigenous trees, and employed over 100 locals who are now helping protect this piece of paradise.

Hidden in the wet forests below the limestones, a very rare gem hangs on tree branches: JC’s Vine, a plant so rare and precious it is found only in four places in the Philippines. Nothing about its presence on the five-peso coin captures the vibrance of its lilac explosion as it blossoms once a year.

JC's Vine Blooming Once a Year in Masungi Georeserve

PHOTO: Masungi Georeserve

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But land grabbers and quarrying companies are bent on exploiting the land under the forests of Masungi Georeserve, threatening to destroy the habitat of tens of thousands of plants and animals that seek refuge in this sanctuary. The most recent threat that Masungi had to face was the Bureau of Corrections, whose sudden interest in building its headquarters at the heart of Masungi’s protected sanctuary drew raised eyebrows among senators.

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“Masungi is home to hundreds of native plant and animal species that are part of Filipino natural heritage. Our forest is one of the last remaining forests near Manila and the way we take care of reflects how we care for our forests throughout the country,” Masungi Georeserve told Esquire Philippines.

According to Masungi Georeserve, the watershed areas around Masungi protect the National Capital Region and Rizal Province from the worsening impacts of climate change. According to the World Bank study on the Upper Marikina Watershed in 2017, in-tact forests can lower flood water volume by 27 percent to 48 percent versus a depleted forest.

More than fossils, microsnails, and lilac-petalled vines, Masungi’s limestone cliffs are hiding something irresistible to capitalists: minerals and precious ores.

PHOTO: Masungi Georeserve`

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Masungi is located at the southern tip of the Sierra Mountain Range, a place rich in natural resources. According to the protectors at Masungi, the Province of Rizal itself, where Masungi is situated, contributed the largest output to the mining sector of the entire Region 4A-CALABARZON.

Based on data provided by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Rizal Province is the country’s largest producer of industrial mineral basalt, with a production value of more than P1.7 billion in 2021. Masungi Georeserve could be sitting on top of a very rich quarry that is worth hundreds of billions of pesos.

For the land grabbers, Masungi is a rich land that is sitting on top of millions of dollars’ worth of quarry.

For Ann and Billie, it’s a sanctuary for returning flora and fauna, some of which have not been seen in Luzon for decades. The land even hosts prehistoric plants older than dinosaurs.

PHOTO: Masungi Georeserve

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Masungi Georeserve is an award-winning geotourism site that began as a simple public-private reforestation project in 1996, in which the government through the DENR awarded the Dumaliang family the rights to develop 30 percent of the forest, while conserving 70 percent of the area. The project involved restoring 400 hectares of denuded forests.

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Today, the georeserve is run and protected by sisters Ann and Billie Dumaliang, who are Masungi Georeserve’s project manager and trustee, respectively.

In February 2021, the Dumaliang sisters were named among the five winners of Vanity Fair’s 2021 Changing Your Mind Travel Awards. Ann is also a National Geographic Explorer and a Regional Finalist for Young Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“You’re up against wealthy and powerful individuals, it’s a challenge, but based on our experience, we are compelled to say something, to do something, and to fight back,” Billie tells Esquire.

“Despite harassment and abuse of power, there is hope.”

The Secrets of Masungi's Prehistoric Limestones

A Masungi Microsnail the Size of a Grain of Rice

Up Close: The Masungi Limestones

JC's Vine Blooming Once a Year in Masungi Georeserve