Manila, April 10 -- The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Sabangan, Mountain Province, urged farmers on Friday to avoid "kaingin" (slash-and-burn) farming as they prepare for the next planting season, citing it as the most common cause of forest fires.

"We call on our farmers not to burn the dry grasses and leaves at their farms as they easily light and spread, especially during the summer season," Senior Fire Officer IV Sherwin Cogasi, acting fire marshal of the Sabangan Municipal Fire Station, said in an interview.

Cogasi noted that a forest fire on April 7, which spread across mountains and crossed a highway, reportedly originated from a "kaingin" activity. He added that the steep terrain made the blaze difficult for firefighters to...