(via Graphic Plus) BOTOLAN, Zambales | January 27, 2026 — Guided tours to Mount Pinatubo now generate a stable revenue stream for the local government here, with most of the proceeds being plowed back to Ayta villages destroyed by the volcanic eruption in 1991.
Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane said almost three-fourths of LGU revenue from Pinatubo adventure tour packages last year were redistributed to upland barangays near the popular tourist attraction.
“We collected more than P24 million from Pinatubo tours in 2025, and most of the proceeds went to the barangays in Baytan (east),” Ebdane said.
“Of the total income, P17.75 million went to Baytan, while only P6.25 million was retained by the Botolan LGU,” he pointed out.
The “Baytan” area comprises the villages of Villar, Burgos, Moraza, Belbel, and Poonbato, which are part of the Ayta ancestral land here.
Ebdane said the hefty allocation given to the Ayta villages is in recognition of the tribesmen’s contribution in protecting the Pinatubo landscape, as well as for their involvement in the town’s eco-tourism industry.
Aside from shares from the Pinatubo tour packages, residents of Baytan villages along the route to Pinatubo also earn privately from food and souvenir items sold to visitors, the mayor noted.
The Botolan Tourism Office, which handles the LGU-organized adventure tours, said around 500 tourists each week take the Pinatubo tours, which run only during the dry-season months from January to May.
Aside from the Botolan LGU, some private firms organize Pinatubo tour packages, including overnight stay, that start at P2,350 up to P3,299 per person. These tours take off from either Botolan or Capas, Tarlac, with the latter offering a different route.
Gennessy Villar, head of the Botolan Tourism Office, said that in Botolan, the tour package covers mandatory tour guide service, environmental fee, and 4×4 vehicle transportation, as well as access to creek swimming area, swimming pool, and shower room at Camp Kainomayan, the jump-off point.
The Pinatubo adventure tour starts with an early morning 4×4 ride across the Bucao lahar field (Taktikom)
A view of the “Beautiful Disaster”, the Mt. Pinatubo crater lake (Taktikom)
Ebdane said that this year, the Botolan LGU will work on a comprehensive plan for the use of tourism revenues in consultation with Ayta leaders and concerned barangay officials to further promote inclusive growth in the upland villages near Mount Pinatubo. – Taktikom News & Features
