Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 9072)
The short title of Republic Act No. 9072 is the "National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act."
The State's declared policy is to conserve, protect, and manage caves and cave resources as part of the country's natural wealth and to strengthen cooperation and information exchange between governmental authorities and users of caves for various purposes.
A 'cave' means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, or system of interconnected passages beneath the earth's surface or within a cliff or ledge large enough to permit an individual to enter, including natural pits, sinkholes, or features extending from its entrance. It excludes man-made excavations like vugs, mine tunnels, or aqueducts.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is the lead agency tasked to implement the Act, except in Palawan where the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development serves as lead pursuant to RA No. 7611.
The DENR's powers include formulating and implementing management programs for caves, disseminating information, issuing permits for cave resource collection (excluding removal of stalactites and stalagmites), calling on other agencies for assistance, entering MOAs with LGUs, tapping NGOs for cooperation, and performing necessary functions to enforce the Act.
Information on the nature and specific location of potentially significant caves shall not be made public for one year after discovery, during which assessment is conducted, unless the DENR Secretary determines disclosure would further the Act's purposes without risk of harm or destruction and upon a satisfactory written request.
Prohibited acts include knowingly destroying, disturbing, defacing, marring, altering, removing or harming cave speleothems or speleothems, interfering with animal or plant life movement in caves, unlawfully gathering, possessing, selling or exchanging cave resources, and counseling or employing others to commit these acts.
Violators may face imprisonment from two to six years or a fine of P20,000 to P500,000, or both. Those who finance such acts face imprisonment from over six years to eight years or fines from P500,000 to P1,000,000, or both. Offenders may also be required to restore or compensate for damaged areas and government employees shall be removed from office.
The Secretary shall order the confiscation of cave resources gathered or sold in violation of the Act, including conveyances and equipment used in such offenses, in favor of the government.
Money collected by the DENR as permit fees, bond forfeitures, or fines for violations of the Act shall be remitted to the National Treasury.
RA 9072 takes effect fifteen days after its publication in two national newspapers of general circulation.
A 'significant cave' is a cave possessing archaeological, cultural, ecological, historical or scientific value as determined by the DENR in coordination with the scientific community and academe.