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Friday, March 29, 2024

The sea beckons

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"Some diving establishments will be open to tourists."

 

 

Here’s good news for diving enthusiasts, especially my partner Jenni Ann Munar and pal, JC Cahinhinan, as the Department of Tourism has sound off on divers to dust off their masks, fins, snorkels, regulators, and other gear as popular dive sites in Batangas prepare to welcome tourists.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, as Chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving), signed PCSSD Administrative Order No. 2020-001 or the Guidelines on the Operations of Dive Establishments Under a Community Quarantine.

“Dive establishments in Batangas Province, insofar as the area is still under General Community Quarantine, are hereby determined to be permitted to accept guests for Recreational Diving, taking into consideration the general preparedness of the area and its impact on the tourism industry,” the tourism chief remarked.

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This, after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases  approved Resolution No. 78, which provides for the DOT to determine the destinations in GCQ areas where recreational diving may be allowed. The same resolution provides that in specific areas under GCQ and MGCQ, dive establishments and resorts may accept guests from either GCQ or MGCQ areas for recreational diving purposes. It should be noted that prior to this IATF-EID Resolution, travel between areas under GCQ and MGCQ for purposes of recreational diving was not allowed.

“We express our support to the diving community in Batangas, one of the premier diving destinations in the country. We remain optimistic yet cautious of its reopening to recreational diving. We remind everyone to Test Before Travel and likewise reiterate that only those with a valid DOT and/or PCSSD Accreditation will be permitted to operate. While guests of all ages from GCQ and MGCQ areas are welcome, the activity is off-limits to those with co-morbidities and currently pregnant,” Puyat announced.

Through its regional office for CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), the DOT also provided a digital contact tracing application to the Mabini, Batangas local government unit (LGU) for a more efficient tracing measure.

There are already six dive establishments and 2 liveaboards accredited by PCSSD in Region IV-A. For the whole country, there are 241 dive establishments and 10 liveaboards accredited. As of October 8, 222 establishments have secured the Certificates of Authority to Operate (CAO) from the DOT.

“The DOT accreditation certifies that the dive establishments are conforming to the minimum health and safety guidelines and are ready to accept guests again. We encourage the dive resorts and stakeholders to take advantage of the free and online DOT-accreditation platform at https://accreditation.tourism.gov.ph,” Puyat added.

Just south of Manila and easily accessible by land and sea, Batangas has some of Luzon’s best dive sites, including Balayan Bay, Cathedral Rock, Beatrice Rock, Twin Rocks, and Mainit Muck.

Leaving a legacy

In recent years, arriving late for meetings and appointments has become normal, and being late has become the stereotype of Filipinos already. In Metro Manila, the worsening traffic is usually used as an excuse by people for not getting somewhere on time. But if you ask those who are chronically late, most of them, if they are being honest, would tell you that they just don’t want to come early and wait. 

This trend of habitual tardiness among our people, if unabated, will surely be counterproductive toward our goal of making our nation progressive. Efforts should be made now to change people’s mindset, make them understand that being “fashionably late” is not only rude but also shows disrespect of your own commitments, and that tardiness also has its costs. 

Thankfully, the JCI Senate Philippines is implementing Project W.A.T.C.H. (We Advocate Time Consciousness and Honesty) with the Department of Education (DepEd) which aims to inculcate to the Filipino youth the values of punctuality and honesty in the development and productivity of our nation. 

Presidential Proclamation 1782 declared every month of June as a W.A.T.C.H Month and that for all schools, universities, colleges and department of local government offices and municipalities to conduct activities related to W.A.T.C.H. among their students, teachers, civil servants and constituents.

Free workshops for students and teachers were provided as part of this advocacy project which has its National (Virtual) Kickoff this year via FB Live last July 29, 2020 hosted by Canabuan National High School. Awarding for the 2020 National Search for Outstanding W.A.T.C.H. Schools will be in December 2020.

Earlier this year, the Community Transformation for Development Foundation became the institutional partner for Project W.A.T.C.H. after its Founder and Chairman, JCI Sen. Conrad T. Dieza signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the JCI Senate Philippines. During the ceremonial signing, JCI Sen. Conrad T. Dieza expressed his support to the project and his belief that instilling these values to the next generation is a very good legacy to leave behind.   He also added that “being punctual and honest will never go out of style.”

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