Ille Cave sought as ‘Natural Heritage Tourism’ site in El Nido municipality

A technical team from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) is proposing to open the archeologically-important Ille Cave in Barangay New Ibajay, El Nido to tourists.

Presently classified as a Class I site which is closed to tourists, they are recommending the reclassification of the cave as Class II, to allow for “controlled tours and visits.”

The Ille Cave within the Dewil Valley in New Ibajay was enlisted as Class I under Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) Resolution No. 15-522 approved in 2015.

PCSDS spokesperson Jovic Fabello said Friday that under the classification, the cave may only be utilized for “mapping, photography, educational, and scientific purposes” due to its natural values and hazardous conditions.

“Noong 2015, without detailed assessment, pina-classify namin ‘yong Ille Cave as Class I. Ito ‘yong cave na merong delicate formations geologically… ito ‘yong cave na may threatened species of wildlife, ito ‘yong cave na may hazardous sections, and kapag ganitong klaseng cave na Class I, activities allowed ay mapping lang pati research. Basically, kapag Class I core zone siya,” Fabello said.

Class II caves, he explained, also have sensitive areas and por-

tions, but selected sections can be opened for “controlled tours and visits.”

The PCSD Manual on Caves Classification adopts to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Memorandum Circular No. 2007-04 which prescribes classification for all caves within the public domain and private lands, including those found within protected areas.

Fabello, who is also a forester and part of the assessment team, said because of the archeological excavations being undertaken by the University of the Philippines-Archeological Studies Program (UP-ASP) with the National Museum, Ille Cave was classified as Class I.

“Considering that Ille Cave ay pinupuntahan na ng mga turista, and last November 2017, when I was a guest at U.P. Diliman in a forum by the Archeological Studies Program, Dr. Victor Paz, the head of the program, told me that he wanted to open the area for heritage tourism because, he said, the area will be valueless if there will be no awareness coming from the people visiting the site,” he said.

Paz said if it is classified as Class I, nothing will happen to Ille Cave.

Fabello said they conducted the assessment of Ille Cave from February 25 to March 1 also because of requests from the barangay officials of New Ibajay, the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI), and the municipal government of El Nido to open it as a heritage and cultural site where people can learn the history of the town.

The UP-ASP constructed a building 100 meters from the cave, he said, to serve as a mini-museum where the technical cast and replicas of the major artefacts excavated are now displayed.

The lot property for the structure was donated by the municipal government.

“The cave can be used as a heritage as well as an archaeological and historical site. It can serve as alternative cultural destination for tourists in the town of El Nido,” Fabello said.

Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project

A scientific paper called “Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project” covering the 2008 excavation season made available at ResearchGate.com by Paz with Wilfredo Ronquillo, Helen Lewis of the University College Dublin (UCD), Philip Piper of the Australian National University (ANU), Jane Carlos, Emil Robles of U.P., Vito Hernandez, Taj Vitales, Janine Ochoa, Tara Reyes, and Hermine Xhauflair details the fact-finding seasons conducted in Ille Cave and other sites in Dewil Valley that is now Barangay New Ibajay.

The report said excavations in Ille Cave started in 1998 “with a 1.87 m x 1m (site grid location of N3W12) test pit at the front