Manila, June 10 -- The Antique Trekkers Inc. (ATI), composed of mountaineers from this province, will celebrate the Independence Day on June 12 with a "freedom climb."

The freedom climb in Mt. Danawan in Tobias Fornier is their way of calling for the protection of the environment, Board Member and ATI vice president Pio Jessielito Sumande Sr. said.

ATI is advocating for the protection of wildlife like the dulungan, the provincial bird of Antique, and caves.

"We hope to make a call for the importance of protecting and conserving our environment through our freedom climb," he said in an interview.

He said that they are also manifesting their sense of nationalism through a flag-raising and symbolic tree-planting activity at the peak.

Mt...