Terrorism to tourism: Davao Sur town's caves attract tourists

DAVAO CITY – Some people think that it would be impossible for a former lair of the New People’s Army (NPA) to become an emerging tourism destination.

However, the local government unit (LGU) of Matanao, Davao del Sur, is out to prove skeptics wrong.

Early this week, Matanao officials hosted the first-ever Cave Congress in the Davao Region to showcase the richness and beauty of the town's over 60 caves.

Three of the caves - Su’bon, Asbang Faksol, and Dats – are all certified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as safe and "tourist-ready."

The caverns in Barangay Asbang have been spruced up to preserve their natural beauty that no one would have known that these were once lairs of NPA rebels.

In fact, only a few years ago, local officials would have shooed unsuspecting visitors who are lured by the town's exotic caves, which were thought to be occupied by insurgents.

Years of peace initiatives and intensified campaign against the NPA, however, have borne fruit for places like Matanao which has been plagued by the rebels' terroristic activities, Mayor Vincent Fernandez said.

Before the term of then President Rodrigo Duterte, who aggressive advocated for a whole-nation approach to the insurgency problem, Fernandez described Barangay Asbang as a “war-torn area.”

“Before we open our tourism here, I made sure that there is no presence of the NPA, that they no longer existed,” he said. “I was apprehensive before (to invite visitors), but now cave tourism has changed the face of our municipality."

Caving as economic driver

Clover Jane Sabornido, the Matanao tourism officer, said Su'bon Cave is a “solution cave” with water flowing from the land surface through the cave's ceiling and underground creek.

“The cave is