KABAYAN, Benguet – The world-famous mummies that placed this fifth-class town on the tourism map are now on the verge of decay and are being attacked by insects, prompting officials of the National Museum to bring in laboratory experts to restore the mummies.

Local officials and tourism stakeholders here described the condition of the mummies as now being affected by molds while others stocked in several caves are being attacked by rodent mites.

Worse, water is now seeping into the coffins where the mummies are placed, thus, contributing to their rapid deterioration.

Earlier, experts from the National Museum discovered the fingernails of the mummies are reportedly chipping while their teeth are falling off, thus the need to provide the required technical assistance to for their upkeep.

Initially, the experts to be commissioned by the National Museum will conduct facial cleaning of the mummies while the other mummies will be brought to the laboratory to be fixed.

Previously, the national government has been allocating financial support to the municipal government for the fencing and cleaning of the mummy burial caves aside from the continuous maintenance that they are doing at the different historical sites in the town.

The National Museum reportedly found two other mummies, one in France and another in Germany, which are known to be "Filipinos" based on the labels reflected on the containers.

Furthermore, the discovered mummies were found to be Filipnos after the same were subjected to DNA testing, thus, the need to facilitate their repatriation so that they will be brought to their respective places.

Reliable information from the National Museum showed the mummy found in Germany has an initial bidding price of $10,000 while there are no details for the one discovered in France.

The famous mummy, Apo Anno, was found to have been stolen from Kabayan and was transferred from one country to another before the Philippine government was able to retrieve it and was subjected to expensive tribal ritauls prior to its being put back to its burial cave in Nabalicong, Buguias, Benguet in 1999.

Tourism stakeholders cited immediate attention must already be given to the state of the famous mummies to that foreign and domestic tourists will continue to visit the town and help the local economy, considering that Kabayan is one of the remotest municipalities in Benguet.

The Kabayan mummies could be seen at the municipal museum in the town proper while others are housed in several caves in the different parts of the town, thus, nature lovers make it a point to drop by and view the mummies while visiting other major tourist spots in the town.

Aside from the famous mummies, other tourist destinations in the town include the Mount Pulag National Park, the seond highest mountain peak in the country, and its clean rivers and lakes.