Sagada. Barangay officials of Taccong, Suyo and Ambasing, municipal tourism officer of Sagada, and staff of the Provincial Tourism office attended the presentation by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the result of cave appraisal in this town.
The main facilitators came from the regional office of DENR-CAR represented by Mining Engr. Wrexton Afidchao and forester Cristopher Bosaing of CENRO- Sabangan.
Bosaing appealed to the barangay officials and stakeholders of caves in Sagada to unite and cooperate for the preservation of caves. He said further that rock formations and biodiversity inside and outside the caves are slowly being destroyed.
Engr. Wrexton Afidchao presented the result of his team’s assessment on the two caves being frequented by tourists in Sagada, particularly Balangagan and Lumiyang.
He urged the barangay officials concerned to follow up with the Department of Public Works and Highways the backfilling of the top of the cave that was leveled for the proposed construction of a government building.
Bosaing pointed out that the “head” of the cave must be planted with trees and shrubs. According to him, trees hold water which is essential in forming the stalactites and stalagmites in the cave.
Afidchao related that Balangagan have nine chambers. And one chamber has been a burial ground as manifested by the presence of some old coffins. He urged the barangay officials of Suyo and Taccong to put a fence so that vandals will not destroy the coffins and skeletons.
Lumiyang, once a famous burial ground, is the entrance of the renowned cave connection to a “big” cave called Sumaguing. According to Afidchao, it is the 2nd longest cave in CAR at 800 meters.
Vanessa Pineda of the National Museum requested the barangay officials to pass ordinances for the preservation of the cultural values of the town’s caves.
Meanwhile, a certain staff of the DENR discussed the important features of RA 9072 or an act to manage and protect caves and cave resources and for the classification of caves. Class I are caves with delicate and fragile geological formations, have threatened species and archeological and paleontological values, and their conditions are extremely hazardous;
Caves under class II are those with sections that have hazardous conditions and contain sensitive geological, biological, archeological, cultural, historical, and biological values or have high quality ecosystem. They can be visited by well-experienced cavers and visitors but with experienced guides; and
Class 3 are those considered generally safe to inexperienced visitor with no known threatened species, archeological, geological, natural history, cultural and historical values. These caves may also be utilized for economic purposes such as guano extraction and edible birds nest collection.**By Francis B. Degay
