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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) concluded that the death of a veteran spelunker, who fell while exploring a cave in barangay Gaas, Balamban town, Cebu, late last year was caused by faulty equipment.
"There was one link in the safety line that had a gap or a coupling (carabiner) that gave way," said Dioscoro Melana, head of the DENR-Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Service (PAWCZMS), which conducted an investigation on the incident.
On Nov. 30, 2007, Dr. Adolph Espina III and five other spelunkers were supposed to conduct a three-day mapping survey exploration of the cave, rumored to be the deepest in the country, when he fell to his death.
His companions, all members of the Speleo-Cebu Inc. except one, earlier said the accident was caused by faulty equipment.
Melana said the factors behind the faulty equipment is not known.
“Pwede man mag-age ang equipment. It could be that the coupling is corroded,” said Melana.
Melana also instructed Filemon Solon, Central Cebu Protected Area superintendent, to inspect the cave and check for any damage that the spelunkers may have caused during their exploration activity.
Melana was referring to violations of the Republic Act 9072 or the Act to manage and protect caves and cave resources. Among the prohibited acts under the law are destroying, disturbing plant or animal life in the cave or collecting or selling any cave resource.
He earlier said the expedition was unauthorized as the group did not coordinate with the DENR-7.
Before any explorer can go inside an unexplored cave, a memorandum of agreement must be entered into by the interested group and the DENR or with the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) if the cave is within a protected area.
According to Melana, no one should visit the caves that have not been assessed by either the DENR or the PAMB.
“We appeal to them (cave explorers and spelunkers) to coordinate with us and present their programs. If you want to study the caves, we can do it together. If they want to document the caves, we can collaborate,” he said.
But the inspection would have to wait because the agency's equipment is also faulty and they lack the budget to purchase the expensive climbing equipment.
“The DENR budget has already been released early this year, so we need a capital outlay to fund our proposal,” Melana said.
“What we can do is re-align the existing budget,” he added.
Unless they are able to purchase the proper equipment, the agency cannot make a thorough investigation of the Gaas cave to determine whether the Speleo members damaged any part of the cave.
“It is a vertical cave, so we need ropes na kasaligan og lig-on,” Melana said.
He explained that a vertical descent means that a person puts his or her full weight on the ropes, carabiner and harness that are used. So the equipment have to be heavy duty and in good condition.
The PAWCZMS technical director said a report was submitted to the DENR main office in Manila, which included a request for funds to purchase ropes and other components to be used by the agency's spelunkers.
