MACTAN SEA CAVE SURPRISE: ‘Doc Amores’ pushed for marine sanctuary

An underwater cave in Lapu-Lapu city may be one of the legacies of the late surgeon and scuba diver Alfonso Amores who discovered it in 2002.

The freshwater cave holds fossils of various marine animals and boulders that could be further studied by scientists for clues about the origin of Mactan island.

What also makes the Pawod Underwater Cave System rare is that it is “the only freshwater underwater cave system in an urban setting” located conveniently near hotels and dives hops in Mactan, Amores wrote in a project proposal seeking support for protection of the site.

Colleagues are hoping the Lapu-Lapu city government and Department of Environment and Natural Resources would take action and declare the Pawod Cave in barangay Augs a marine protected area (MPA).

“There are so many things to learn about the place and it needs protection before uncontrolled development destroys it,” said Bernil Gastardo, president of the Filipino Cave Divers.

Amores, who died while cave diving in the Enchanted River in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur last June 17, was a pioneer in the underwater sport, which requires specialized equipment and training.
He was formally trained in extensive cave systems in Florida, USA .

The Pawod cave was used as a training ground by Amores to introduce other scuba divers to this form of technical diving.

Andy Berame, a close friend, who is Lapu-Lapu Coastal Operational Coordinator, said they are pushing for a city resolution to create Task Force Pawod so that an inter-agency body can study the spring and have it formally recognized as an MPA.

Berame, one of the doctor’s cave diving students, said he was thankful to Amores for being wiling to teach Filipino divers for free.

“He wanted to pass on what he knew to ordinary Filipinos because cave diving is not just for the rich and foreigners,” said Berame.

“It was not just about enjoying the sights underwater. He wanted to preserve its state and influence everyone else.”

Gastardo of the FCD said he accompanied “Docboy” Amores in different cave explorations in the Visayas and Mindanao and that the doctor’s death left a big challenge for members to continue his work, especially Pawod, which was dear to them.

“In terms of finding a quality system of caves for such learning courses, Pawod is the most suitable next to Florida ,” said Gastardo.

Amores was a reconstructive surgeon in the United States for 30 years before he came home to Lapu-Lapu City and found a new passion in marine conservation, diving and underwater photography.

Lapu-Lapu today has nine marine sanctuaries because of the joint efforts of resort owners, barangays and Task Force Kalikasan, whose members were trained by Amores.

Shangrila Mactan’s marine sanctuary, which Amores helped develop, was used as a template for others in barangay Dakit , Talima and Baring.

While his death in Surigao was widely reported as an accident in a high-risk activity, an autopsy showed that the 68-year-old Amores had suffered a heart attack underwater.

His widow Luz told CDN the diver was already suffering from pneumonia and had a 12-year-old heart ailment.

Amores, in a briefing paper he wrote about the Pawod Cave, warned that the site was already suffering damage as a cave diving and tourist destination.

He said siltation, waste disposal and loss of water quality were only some signs of the impact of population pressure and unregulated use of the cave.

Unless there is intervention and the site is declared a protected area, he said, it would affect mean a loss to tourism and “paleontological and geological information” the cave may offer to the scientific community and the people of Mactan.

Caves are considered part of the country’s natural wealth. Their development are use are covered by Republic Act 9072, which designated DENR as the lead agency for overseeing their use for scientific, educational, recreational, tourism and other purposes.

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