A joint assessment team composed of spelunkers from Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR) and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office – Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Unit (CENRO-PAMBCU) conducted cave assessment on May 16, 2023 at Abuyadero Cave located at Sitio Masaba, Barangay Quiniput, this city.

The cave assessment aimed to classify the Abuyadero Cave for ecotourism activity in line with RA 9072 “National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act”. It is the first step in ensuring that the Philippine cave systems are protected from destruction and as well as the starting point for proper cave management. The cave was named Abuyadero because of its flowing water that comes out to the open and form as a stream.

According to the observation of the joint assessment team, the entrance of the cave is small and its inner cave wall has signs of vandalism. The team mapped and stationed the four (4) mini chambers inside. The cave is considered unique, natural and with important scientific, cultural, educational and aesthetic values, home of mineral formations with unique diverse flora and fauna. Few species of fauna were present such as cave cricket, insect bats (Miniopteris sp), fruit bats (Eonycteris sp) and cave dragonfly.  Some of the speleothems and speleogens found inside the cave were stalactites, stalagmites, dogs’ tooth, glow worms, and curtains.

 

 

 

• Fernandez, 2023

Photo credits to CENRO-PAMBCU