Filipino Cave Divers

By Doc AmoresThe FCD Cave Diving Training Batch 2 is composed of Dean Apistar, Ferdinand "Bong" Edralin and Mark Berame. Dean is an avid diver and a marine biologist; Bong is a seasoned topside photographer for the Freeman Newspaper (Cebu) and an avid underwater photographer; and Mark is a divemaster by profession, freelancing in many … Continue reading NEW FCD MEMBERS

Report by: FCD Doc Amores April 2, 2014, Day 2 of FCD's Del Carmen Expedition I, is a milestone. In the afternoon of this date, we discovered the first of many cenotes in the Del Carmen and surrounding areas. The Kantoloi Twin Cenotes, right off the concreted road that goes from Del Carmen to Pilar, … Continue reading KANTOLOI TWIN CENOTES OF PILAR, SIARGAO ISLAND

The crown jewel of the FCD Siargao Expedition of April 2014 is the discovery of The Inner Sanctum of Del Carmen. It is a forbidden cave in the foothills near the center of Barangay Tuboran, Del Carmen, Siargao Island. Reportedly nobody has gone inside the cave before this expedition because of the unworldly inhabitants inside … Continue reading THE INNER SANCTUM OF DEL CARMEN

The Del Carmen Cenote #1 By: Dr. Alfonso Y. Amores, FCD The Del Carmen Cenote #1 is among the epic finds of FCD underwater cave explorations. It is located in Barangay Quezon of Del Carmen, Siargao Island right on the border with Barangay Tuboran, the heart of Del Carmen's maze of underwater caves. Figure 1 below … Continue reading THE DEL CARMEN CENOTE #1 – A CLASSIC UNDERGROUND RIVER SINKHOLE

REPUBLIC ACT 9072 AN ACT TO MANAGE AND PROTECT CAVES AND CAVE RESOURCES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act." SECTION 2. … Continue reading REPUBLIC ACT 9072

By FCD Andy Berame A near fatal incident occurred when we were diving sidemount inside HERUC (Hinatuan Enchanted River Underwater Cave), when a small fragment of debris jammed Docboy Amores' dump valve causing his BCD to free flow. Doc had to crawl his way out of the cave and do a wall climbing routine during … Continue reading A D-I-Y METHOD TO DEBRIS-PROOF YOUR BCD’S DUMP VALVE

There she is... an earthquake long ago created Hinatuan Enchanted River Underwater Cave. A beauty born of Mother Nature's rage. Like Tinago River north of her (exiting at Portlamon), she lies on a fault line. In fact two lines terminate at her spring. That's the reason for the sharp and almost vertical cut on her … Continue reading A Beauty Born of Mother Nature’s Rage

During the 18th National Cave Committee (NCC) meeting chaired by Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) held last February 23, 2014, at the National Museum in Tagbilaran, Bohol, the Filipino Cave Divers (FCD) presented the completed penetrations of underwater caves inside Lake Bababu in Dinagat Islands, Hinatuan Enchanted River, Pamuntuanan and Campamento-Lanuza (all in Surigao del Sur), … Continue reading FCD attends the 18th National Cave Committee Meet

Thank God All Divers Live LONG! by FCD Jake Miranda Cave diving pioneers began using the TGDAL acronym as an easy but important reminder for new and experienced cave divers to prepare for cave dives. Sheck Exley in 1977 espoused the use of guidelines, rule of thirds for air consumption and depth limits. Wes Skiles … Continue reading Thank God All Divers Live LONG!

By FCD Doc AmoresThe media are full of stories of diver(s) surfacing from a dive only to find out that the dive boat is gone. Some cases have been presumed fatal; some tell of horror stories - being adrift anywhere from one to 19 hours.Back-mounted tanks are fixed flush against the body and can easily … Continue reading SURVIVAL AT SEA – STRANDED ON SIDEMOUNTS

Much have changed since the discovery of the Pawod Underwater Cave System in 2001 by FCD Doc Amores. These are testaments to the Pawod's status as the birthplace of the burgeoning culture of cave diving in the Philippines. The cave is now home to a few cave training programs; it has graduated more than a … Continue reading RELINING OF DOC’S CHAMBER OF PAWOD UNDERWATER CAVE

By Doc Amores One of the biggest earthquakes to hit the Visayas region shook up the entire area on October 15, 2013 at 8:12AM. It registered intensity 8 to 9 in Bohol where the epicenter was some 6 km from the town of Sagbayan, to intensity 7 to 8 in the Cebu area. Pawod! On … Continue reading PAWOD AND THE BIG EARTHQUAKE OF 2013