Bohol diving spot in deep trouble

Regulated diving

Dive instructors, like Redentor Durano of the Bohol Beach Club,

Panglao's pioneering resort where the first Balicasag divers were

billeted, cited the need for regulated diving activities.

As many as 12 boats go to the site on a good diving day. Given

the manner in which some diving instructors and guides

oversee the activities, there is enough cause for alarm.

Indiscriminate throwing of anchors, overzealous tourists,

reckless boatmen and overcrowding are taking their toll on the

corals.

The slow but unmistakable deterioration in the dive site has

attracted the concern not only of operators and owners of

tourism establishments in Panglao but also of the provincial

government.

Although Panglao boasts of powdery white sand beaches, there

is no doubt that the nearby dive sites are the primary attraction.

Panglao Mayor Toribio Bon said roughly 80 to 90 percent of

tourists who visit Panglao come primarily for the Balicasag

diving experience.

Dive-related tourism in Panglao has metamorphosed into a

multimillion-peso industry. One indication of the thriving diving

industry is that there are now at least 16 Bohol-based dive

instructors accredited by the Philippine Association of Diving

Instructors.

It had come a long way from May 6, 1984 when divers from

Subic, who were billeted at the Beach Club, plunged for the first

recorded dive in Balicasag but they hardly caused a stir.

That Balicasag is in danger is no longer news to tourism

authorities. In March, Angelito Banayo, PTA general manager,

said he was aware of the problem of overpopulation in Balicasag

and vowed to downsize the operations of the BIDR on the

island. Banayo was then barely a year in office.

While he has not publicly discussed his plan for Balicasag, he

was believed to be doing his share in protecting the island.

Gov. Rene Relampagos revealed that Banayo has indicated his

plan to put buoys in the area and to provide a patrol boat to

help secure the fish sanctuary. The buoys will help regulate

diving activities and create some semblance of order at the

diving sites and somehow ease the load off the coral reefs.

Banayo, however, has not given any hint on what he will do

with the BIDR which, aside from being unable to protect the

coral reefs, is being plagued with financial reversals. Documents

reveal that the BIDR has accumulated losses amounting to P18.4

million from 1992 to 1998.

Solutions

Dompor said he hoped the BIDR would be converted into a

marine park and its personnel tapped to implement diving

regulations and collect fees from boats ferrying divers into the

area.

Instead of bankrolling the BIDR, Dompor suggested that the

government can use its budget for environmental protection.

''We will be disposing of the magnet that attracts people to

Balicasag, slow down the volume of trash that seeps into the

corals, enhance preservation efforts, maximize collection of

revenues, expand promotional activities--without driving people

away and depriving workers of their jobs,'' Dompor added.

Dompor lamented though that the controversy stirred by the

CRMP report disputing the GCRA findings has overshadowed

the problem, especially since most of the local politicians are

playing it safe.

''They are afraid to lose votes among the islanders who would

resent any move to depopulate the island so they are not

exactly excited about the solution to the coral reef destruction,''

he said.

He stressed that if the problem is to be solved before it

deteriorates further, there is need to acknowledge its real cause

before the correct solution can be determined.

''It is frightening to leave the problem to the BIDR alone. More

than 12 years since the signing of the MOU, the PTA has not

employed a marine biologist to look after the dive sites,''

Dompor noted.

Balbuena said he had seen dive sites in other places deteriorate

as a result of the apathy of the local population and government

officials.

Balbuena can only hope the Save Balicasag Committee will

receive active support from all sectors so the beautiful dive spot

off Panglao can be saved.