This photo shows what appears to be a dazed Congressman Rufus Rodriguez right in the middle of a forest, with nowhere to go.
But in truth, the Cagayan de Oro 2nd district representative was neither lost nor lonely; he, along with personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), were on their way to visit Huluga cave in Sitio Taguanao, Barangay Indahag.
Rodriguez recently led an inspection at Huluga Cave, which he intends to declare as an ecotourism site under House Bill (HB) No.2448.
"Once inside the cave, it can be seen that it is not a through cave, with a total length of 30.30 meters," read a Facebook post about the inspection.
"The cave portal also has a low-lying ceiling measuring only approximately meter from the ground. This means that everyone must crawl to go inside and to access the other chambers and parts of the cave," it stated.
It further stated that Huluga Cave "is historically important as human skeletal remains dating back to 350 AD were found in the cave, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California at San Diego. Surface scans conducted by UP (University of the Philippines) archeologists yielded prehistoric potsherds and volcanic obsidian flakes or stone tools."
At any rate, Rodriguez shared through the post that the development of the Huluga site still requires "further consultation with experts, including local historians and anthropologists, to ensure that the integrity of the cave will not be compromised by any proposed changes to the site".