Balincaguin Conservancy Grotto

Tacloban City (May 11) -- More than 300 participants from the different caving clubs and speleological societies from all over the country, and cavers from Australia, United States, New Zealand, Hongkong, Great Britain and Japan have started to arrive in Tacloban ready to troop to the Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park on May 11-15, 2009 for the 9th National Caving Congress, Department of Tourism Region 8 Director Karina Rosa Tiopes informed.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano is scheduled to arrive in Tacloban to grace the Opening Ceremonies of the Caving Congress at 9:00 o'clock in the morning which will be held at the University of the Philippines Tacloban campus.

After the Opening Ceremonies, the participants and guests will motor to the municipality of Basey where Secretary Durano formally launch the Eco Tourism Livelihood Project of the Sohoton Services Association and will award the financial assistance to the first six grantees of the DOT GREET Program which is one of the components of President Arroyo's CLEEP Program aimed at mitigating the impact of the current global financial crunch.

From there, the Cavers will proceed to the venue of the Caving Congress right there at the Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park.

This year's Caving Congress which is being hosted by the Department of Tourism together with the local government of Basey, Samar and the Philippine Speleological Society, will differ from that of the previous year because DOT Secretary Ace Durano was keen on elevating it into something with an international flavor, Director Tiopes said.

Thus, this year's speakers include Professor Elery Hamilton Smith, chairman of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Commission on Protected Areas which approves world heritage sites.

Two other speakers who were invited to the Congress are Mr. Pete Chandler, owner of Spellbound Caving Tours in New Zealand; and Mr. Dave Smith of the Department of Conservation, New Zealand.

They will be joined by speakers from the University of the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Tourism, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Museum and Philippine Cave Guides Association.

The National Caving Congress is an annual activity for all caving enthusiasts in the country that advocates for the implementation of RA 9072 otherwise known as the Caves and Cave Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

The event will serve as an avenue to discuss issues and concerns on cave and cave resources management. It hopes to underscore the importance of conserving cave and karst resources; protecting access to caves; encourage responsible management of caves and their unique environment; and promote responsible caving.

The caving congress also aims to assess and strengthen the Regional Cave Committee of the different regions in the country, to enhance caving methods and adoption of international caving standards.

It also aims to orient participants on the latest issuances on caves and cave resources conservation and management and to strengthen the camaraderie between the DENR personnel and the caving community.

Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park is situated at Rawis, Brgy. Guirang, Basey, Samar covering an approximate area of 840 hectares. Fascinating geological features abound in the area of the national park such as caves, hugs, limestone boulders, rockholes, weathered formation rocks and underground rivers.

The most prominent assemblage in the park are the cathedral-like caves, which are the Panhulugan I, and II, Sohoton and Bugosan. All the caves in the park are endogen caves in angular limestone cliff, which support the base of other crack system.

The Sohoton cave is a cathedral-like dome with an entrance of a parabolic arch-type for about fifty-meters high. It has a flat door area near the entrance, about twenty (20) meters in width and fifty-meters in length. On its ceiling hangs spike-shaped crystalline stalactites and rustic and cavernous walls and stalagmites on the cave's floor. At the far end of the cave are a prince-like window and a balcony overlooking the natural swimming pool below.

Aside from the Sohoton Cave, the participants will also have a chance to visit the Langun-Gobingob Caves of Calbiga, Samar, the 2nd Largest in East Asia Karsts Formation. (PIA 8)