Tourist guides call for probe of cave mischief

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Bruises suffered by tourists here at the famed Sumaguing Cave due to broken glasses scattered all over the place prompted tourist guides to press investigation of the incident.

Tourist guide Ferdie Castaneda from Bontoc , Mountain Province who accompanied Dominican sisters of St Catherine of Siena last Nov. 7 to the cave, along with three Sagada guides, asked for an investigation of the malicious act.

Castaneda said nuns Sister Rosanna Diaz of Bulacan and Sister Arlyn Asor of Cotabato City got cuts on their hands due to broken glasses which they thought were crystals.

Two other nuns- Sister Victoria Salcedo of Taytay, Rizal and Sister Cynthia Tarala of Bicol had the soles of their feet injured with glass splinters. The 16 nun- visitors came from all over the country, the oldest at 68.

Tourist guide Reynaldo Kinad Waytan also from Bontoc said a couple visitor from Australia and Korean wife, too had scratches on their hands from glass splinters while they were groping their way inside the cave last Nov. 10.

Kinad said Paul, the Australian tourist bared the scattering of broken glasses inside the cave is killing the tourism industry of Sagada.

Similarly, Jed Angway of the Sagada Environmental Guides Association calls for an investigation of the malicious act and the necessary punishment be imposed on the offender.

Local guides here in this tourist town led by SEGA cleaned the cave of the scattered glasses three times, Angway said.

Local police said an investigation of the scattering of broken glasses is ongoing. Meantime, municipal policies were imposed on guiding tourists.

A memorandum of mayor Edward Latawan ordered guides should get certification from the tourist information center before doing the job.

A member of the police force is now stationed at the cave to verify accredited papers of guides before allowing them to enter the cave.

In an earlier meeting between the 1994 established SEGA and the two year old Sagada Genuine Guides Association (SAGGAS), it was agreed that guides shall merge
and undergo accreditation process before becoming a full fledged guide .

One requirement before becoming an accredited guide was to undergo training. This follows that non-accredited guides , though they had been guiding earlier are not allowed to guide if they have not passed accreditation process.

Jeric Capuyan, SAGGAS member said their organizational trainings should be honored by the accreditation board.

He said rules on merging should be followed and not the policies of one organization only such as a registration fee.

“The accreditation process is led by an accreditation board as provided for in the Tourism Code composed of the business sector, SEGA, SAGGAS, and a representative from the municipal government,” said Sneaky Umaming, LGU representative.

Some also said, a tourist may also favor a certain guide whether he or she comes from SEGA or SAGGAS.

A recent meeting among members of SEGA, SAGGAS, and officers of Barangay Ambasing (where the cave is located) resolved that both SEGA and SAGGAS agree on guiding rules and guiding routine line up while plans to merge as one organization is being worked out.