Laak town to open caves to tourists, spelunkers

The cave guide in Barangay Sto. Niño points the stalactite rock formation inside the Tagalog Cave during the Caving Festival of Laak, Compostela Valley. The three-day Caving Festival was held July 27-29. (Photo by Armando B. Fenequito Jr.)

LAAK, Compostela Valley — With the success of its three-day Caving Festival held July 27-29 that was participated by senior high school students, the municipal government here will soon open the town’s caves to tourists and spelunkers.

Municipal Mayor Antonio Libuangan, in an interview on Sunday, said his town is ready to accommodate tourists who want to experience the wonders of their caves, which the town boasts as a tourist attraction.

The mayor said he plans to open the caving festival to the people from the entire Davao region so that everyone will be able to witness the town’s natural attraction.

“Nindot nga ma open ni sa tibuok region aron masaksihan sa tanan (It is good to open them to the whole region so that everyone will see our tourism attraction),” he said.

Libuangan said the town has more than a hundred caves, adding the need for them to be classified for conservation management and protection by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) so that tourists will experience all of them.

To complement these tourism initiatives, the town will also open access roads going to the cave sites for easy transportation, and a hotel to be managed by the municipal government

Provincial Tourism Office caving coordinator Prescila Decena said the municipal government initially targeted the graduating senior high school students because they can help in promoting the caves once they leave the town to study in the cities.

“Kung asa man sila, makakita sila sa TV nga well-known kaayo ilang cave dili kaayo sila ma ignorante.

Dili kay mo ingon sila nga haaa naa diay mi ana nga cave diha sa Laak (Wherever they go, if they see their caves featured on TV, they will not be ignorant or surprised about them),” she said.

Decena said the town is positioning itself as the ‘Cave Capital’ in the region, and the campaign is supported by the Department of Tourism and the DENR.

Cecile Claros, barangay captain of Sto. Niño, said the activity is a stepping stone to the bigger market as soon as the town finally opens it.

Claros said the invitation for spelunking will help not just the barangay but also the Indigenous Peoples community and land owners here.

“Makatabang gyud ni sa mga cave guides og uban pang naglihok (This will help the cave guides and other functionaries who work for this),” she said.

Claros assured that environment protection will be a top priority, citing an ordinance passed by the barangay council for the protection of the caves.

She said part of the ordinance is the prohibition of cutting trees within the 500-radius of the cave areas and promoting waste segregation.