CEBU CITY — A furious Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado has offered a cash reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the identification of the tour guides who allowed divers to vandalize coral stones in one of the province’s top dive sites.

PHOTO  shows the vandalized coral stones at Puntud Island (formerly Virgin Island), Panglao Island, Bohol. (Screengrab)

Aumentado offered P200,000 for the identification of the boatmen and tour guides who allegedly collected additional fees from tourists to enable them to write their names on coral stones at the Estaca Dive Site in Puntud Island (formerly Virgin Island), Panglao Island.

“We cannot allow these abuses to happen. These snorkeling guides are the ones who are encouraging vandalism and they collect fees,” said Aumentado.

The anomaly was discovered when a Korean tourist posted a video on social media of their dive at Virgin Island where the local guide wrote the names of the divers on coral stones.

Any information that would help identify the boatmen may be sent to mobile number 09606077503 or to Aumentado’s official Facebook page.

“This has to stop. We have to protect our marine resources, our environment.  If those corals are damaged, we will lose our tourists. No one would be interested to go there anymore,” said Aumentado.

Aumentado said a task force will be created to prevent similar incidents from happening.

Task force members will be given authority to apprehended violators.

“We will give them the authority to reprimand or apprehend. It’s better to have a task force so authorized personnel can act accordingly,” Aumentado said.

Because of the incident, the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) decided to close Puntud Island starting September 9.

The decision was made during a special meeting of the board on September 6.

Aumentado backed recommendations from the joint assessment report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bohol Provincial Environment and Management Office (BPEMO), and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of Panglao.

“This is under E-NIPAS (Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System). This is not an ordinary protected area, we have to close it, Aumentado said.

The move aims to protect the island’s fragile marine ecosystem, which is part of the Panglao Island Protected Seascape (PIPS), and prevent further damage, including the surrounding waters for its rehabilitation.

The temporary closure will cover six months of assessment and extend to one year or until further notice once the area has recovered.

The closure order exempts water-based activities, including gleaning, boat passage heading to Balicasag Island, and the fish cage operations of the Danao United Fishermen’s Association.