By Edong Magpayo

SIX GOVERNMENT and non-government agencies and organizations took a trip to Barangay Cabayugan on May 7 to check on the health of the Cabayugan River that connects to the world-famous Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP), known also as “underground river.”

The visit was done in response to reports that the water of the river has become murky. The team was composed of Park Superintendent Jess Bactol from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Erwin Peter Galido, executive director of the Palawan Conservation Corps (PCC), chieftain Rodolfo Rodriguez of the Tagbanua community in Cabayugan, Andres Ortilla, village chief of Sugod 1 and representative of Tinig ng mga Katutubo sa Cabayugan or TICA, an initiative by the Tagbalay Foundation, Inc.

Galido of Palawan Conservation Corps (PCC) inspects Cabayugan River with other government and non-government agencies to know how siltation can be stopped through natural means. (Photo by Edong Magpayo)

The inspection visit to Cabayugan river was initiated by Tagbalay as part of its effort to conserve and protect the environment that’s being supported by COMPACT or Community Management of Protected Areas Conservation for the area’s second phase. Cabayugan river is being inspected allegedly because there were reports that erosion has caused its water to be mud-sputtered.

The river connects to three others: Cabayugan, Manturon and Kulyatan rivers. The team was worried that if erosion is not stopped, it will affect the underground river eventually.

According to Ortilla, there are 45 families near the river that benefit from its bounty the water it provides through a nearby watershed. The residents allegedly reported that so far, they have not experienced anything negative from the river, but they are still worried about the erosion’s future effect if it is not resolved.
Bactol, on the other hand, said the erosion experienced by Cabayugan river is alarming because if rain falls heavily, it will make the river rise higher than the bridge going to the center of Cabayugan. This is because of the dried leaves and branches, stone and mud that river waters carry.

The woodlands and other river bodies surrounding Cabayugan are part of the declared-World Heritage Site Puerto Princesa Saint Paul Subterranean River National Park, which is now a nominee to the search for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
According to the representative of the Tagbanuas in the area, one of the reasons why there is erosion was the cutting of trees in their forest in the past. The river, Ortilla said, is now experiencing the effect of what was done then by illegal loggers.

The inspection team has agreed to do an environmental restoration plan in the said community to regain a part of the river that was seriously affected by the erosion.