The regional offices of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-11) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-11) are set to file charges Wednesday against an inland resort for converting a cave into a commercial café. In a press briefing, NBI-11 Director Arcelito Albao said the owner of the “Secret Peak Buda Café” violated Republic Act 9072 or the “National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act.’ On April 29, the two agencies shut down the establishment in Barangay Baganihan, Marilog district, for converting a nearby cave as added business attraction. ‘On Saturday (April 29), we implemented the search warrant issued by the court and when we arrived at the area, we found out that this cave was altered. We also found tables and chairs and other paraphernalia that showed the cave was defaced,’ Albao said. He pointed out that by law, caves and cave resources are owned by the state and are part of the country’s natural wealth. In addition, the law mandates the conservation of such natural resources through the DENR as the lead implementing agency, in coordination with other concerned offices and organizations. Albao said that due to the recreational activities inside the cave, its natural features, including stalactites and stalagmites, were damaged. DENR-11 Director Bagani Fidel Evasco said an earlier complaint regarding the use of the cave as a coffee shop prompted them to conduct monitoring of the place. Evasco said the cave’s limestone formation is 2.5 million years old and has a depth of 25 meters with a height of three meters. Apart from the violation of the environmental law, the resort also allegedly does not have sufficient permits to operate as it is located in the Indigenous People’s ancestral domain
Source: Philippines News Agency
