Animal shows back at Subic marine theme park

FRONT-ROW SEAT In this file photo, a group of young visitors at Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Freeport gets a front-row seat to a dolphin show. Soon, tourists can watch animal shows at the marine theme park as the facility resumes operations after more than six months of closure due to the pandemic. —PHOTO COURTESY OF OCEAN ADVENTURE

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Marine theme park Ocean Adventure will resume its animal shows and other leisure activities here on Saturday, seven months after its closure at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dolphin and sea lion shows are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday to “restore the allure of the free port as a tourism destination,” according to Robert Gonzaga, president of Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc., which operates the park.

Gonzaga said the park would resume operations with strict health and safety measures, accommodating only at most 30 people for each cycle of the shows. Tourists will be asked to fill out health questionnaire forms and undergo health screening before entering the facility.

When the theme park was closed for seven months due to the pandemic, it had retrenched more than 200 of its employees and placed the remaining 300 on forced leave.

14-day MECQ

Last month, Subic Freeport started opening its doors to tourists who live in areas under modified general community quarantine and who present the required health clearances.

In Cagayan province, the town of Enrile was placed on modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for 14 days starting on Wednesday until Oct. 20 to contain the surging coronavirus cases which had reached 30.

Liquor ban was imposed while mass gatherings were prohibited as part of tougher quarantine protocols. Religious gatherings were also restricted to five people.

The City of Ilagan in Isabela province was placed on a 10-day MECQ starting Oct. 6 after recording 33 new cases that day. —REPORTS FROM JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT AND VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.