CEBU CITY — A popular diving spot in Cebu province was reopened to the public three months after it was closed due to damage caused by Typhoon Odette last year.
Pescador Island reopened on Sunday, Feb. 27, during the launching of “Dasig Pescador,” a campaign which seeks to expedite the tourist spot’s rehabilitation.
Pescador is an islet belonging to the territorial jurisdiction of Moalboal town in southwestern Cebu, one of the most visited towns in the province.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Moalboal Mayor Paz Rozgoni led the launching of "Dasig Pescador."
Garcia and Rozgoni also joined a groups of licensed divers in a dive-for-a-cause off the island.
Officials of various government agencies in Region 7 -- Shalimar Tamano of the Department of Tourism (DOT-7), Assistant Secretary Asteria Caberte of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7), and representatives from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) also attended the launch.
Police Col. Engelbert Soriano, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, and Col. Jerry Borja, head of Task Force Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, also attended the event as members of the province’s Tourism Task Force.
In her speech, Garcia encouraged divers to participate in coral aggregation or replanting to help restore marine life around the island.
“It’s an added cause, an added advocacy. Diving will be more meaningful as it will help rehabilitate the damaged corals through aggregation,” Garcia said.