Bohol’s underwater graffiti blamed on dive guide

NAME GAME A number of names are etched on corals in the waters of Virgin Island in Panglao, Bohol, shown here during an inspection by local authorities on Aug. 30. —DANILO MENORIAS

TAGBILARAN CITY—A dive guide is being investigated by authorities for allegedly vandalizing the corals at the Estaca Snorkeling Site on Virgin Island in Panglao town of Bohol.

The guide was positively identified through a viral video posted on YouTube by his Korean client after Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado announced on Sept. 4, that he was giving a P200,000 reward for any information that could help authorities trace and identify the persons behind the underwater graffiti.

The guide, as shown in the video, inscribed the name of his client on a table coral and gave a thumbs up sign.

People initially blamed the tourists but it was found out that the local dive guides were responsible for the graffiti.

Panglao Mayor Edgardo “Boy” Arcay said the dive guide, whom he met on Sept. 5, admitted he wrote the name on the coral of a female guest who asked him to do so.

Arcay said he warned the guide that he could be declared a persona non grata (unwanted person) in the town for destroying the corals.

“You are killing tourism. Severe damage was done on the corals and there is a need for it to regenerate,” Arcay said he told the guide.

Dive instructor Danilo Menorias first discovered the underwater graffiti during a Virgin Island dive on July 1. When he, accompanied by government authorities, returned on Aug. 30, there were at least 13 writings, mostly names of persons, inscribed on the corals.

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a global dive training organization, identified 18 dive sites on Panglao Island.

The reef found off Virgin Island is abundant in marine life and beautiful corals, making it a great spot for free diving.

Site closure

Arcay, on Sept. 2, ordered the indefinite closure of the Estaca Snorkeling Site, a move backed by Aumentado.

The site is part of the Panglao Island Protected Seascape (PIPS) and protected by the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-Nipas).

The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Bohol Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office also agreed to close the area for further assessment and address the ecological impact of the water activities.

Provincial Board Member Jamie Aumentado-Villamor, chair of the board’s committee on natural resources and environmental protection, said that should the site reopens, the recommended guidelines would include screening, accreditation and reorientation of local guides, adherence to the local snorkeling ordinance in Panglao by shop owners and guides, and the deployment of a 24-hour security in the area.