Balincaguin Conservancy Grotto

On Sunday, 29 March 2009 at 4 a.m. Rawen E. Balmaña (BC President), Jerry “Pub” Rendon (BC Advisor) and I (newly installed BC Advisor) departed for Tuguegarao City and Baggao Town in the Province of Cagayan.  Since it’s a 10-hour drive from Alaminos we hired a professional driver to ease our travel. The purpose of this pilot trip is to ensure the LGU-Baggao’s logistic support is in order for the upcoming Cave Guide Workshop, which is scheduled for 14-19 April 2009.

After settling into our hotel in Tuguegarao City, we met with leading members of Sierra Madre Outdoor Club (SMOC or better known as “Smoke”), one of the workshop’s co-sponsor, to discuss our presentation to the Mayor of Baggao the following morning. We were later joined by Celso P. Turingen from the Department of Tourism-Region 2 (DOT-R2), who made several important suggestions for the workshop. We’d like to thank SMOC Advisor Francis Battung for making our hotel arrangements and SMOC Incoming President Esteban “Esting” M. Perez for helping us settle in.

Early the next morning Mdm. Raona G. Osuna, Admin. Officer from the Office of the Mayor met us and informed us the she had arranged an audience with Mayor Rolando T. Uanang at 8:00 a.m. Mdm. Roana, Francis, Esting accompanied us on the one and one half hour journey to Baggao Town.  The last thirty two kilometers was mostly unpaved so we were pleasantly surprised to find a first class municipality with three petrol stations, several hotels and much more.

We were well received by Mayor Uanang.  Rawen and Jerry delivered a compelling presentation centered on speleology, as in the science of caves.  Free services we offered included, but were not limited to, cave guide training, mapping and exploration of certain caves selected by the municipality, photo documentation as well as a Single Rope Technique (SRT) refresher course for the experienced members of the SMOC. I also informed Mayor Uanang that two more National Speleological Society cavers from the Southern California Grotto will be arriving and participation in the workshop. The Mayor emphasized concentrating on Duba Cave, Blue Water Cave and Hot Springs for areas to be promoted.

Possible tourist related economic ideas were touched upon as well as interaction with such concerned agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Tourism (DOT).  We were informed that ABS-CBN has expressed their willingness to cover the workshop.

A courtesy visit was also paid to Vice Mayor Leonardo C. Pattung and members of the Municipal Council.  I was particularly impressed with the fact that the Vice Mayor Pattung is also a medical doctor.

As suggested by Mayor Uanang, we took a side trip to Duba Cave in Brgy. San Miguel to see if it is a suitable venue for the workshop. We were escorted by Brgy. Captain Leonila Razos, who took us to the banks of the Pili River near an input gate for National Irrigation Authority’s irrigation system. After a short boat ride to the opposing bank and a short walk to the cave entrance we were pleased to see a natural catchment in front of the cave mouth. We all agreed Duba Cave would be an excellent location for the workshop.

As I put pen to paper guidelines and time lines are being coordinated for our first major training interaction and associated logistics.

By Charles M. Nelson
National Speleological Society #54262
Southern California & San Joaquin Valley Grottos
BC Advisor