FIFTEEN Alaminos City employees, including City Mayor Arthur Celeste and Chief of Police Benjamin Ariola, have completed an open sea scuba diving course last Thursday in a bid to rehabilitate the dying corals in Hundred Islands National Park (HINP).

Jack Bassig, scuba diving trainor, reminds Mayor Celeste and other city hall employees about the importance of ‘buddy-system’ when underwater. (Contributed by Alaminos CIO photo)

In an exclusive interview with Celeste, he said he decided on training employees including himself to lead the rehabilitation project to preserve the beauty and the water resources of HINP for the next generation instead of hiring private divers.

Celeste said he was saddened to discover that of the 30,000 corals that they planted two years ago, only 30% are alive while 70% were destroyed by irresponsible tourists and fishermen.

Most of the corals were destroyed by cyanide and kadkad and dynamite fishing contributed to the destruction.

“Para nang sementeryo sa ilalim ng tubig ang mga natumba at nangingitim na mga corals,” the mayor said.

The beauty of coral garden in Quezon Island is gone, he added.

The coral garden will be closed temporarily to give way to the rehabilitation project.

The open sea scuba training was led by Jack Bassig, trainor of Confederation Mondiale Des Activites Subaquatiques (CMAS) Philippine Chapter whose base is in Rome, Italy.

Bassig said the scuba diving training lasted for 10 days and the trainees have undergone rescue operation and recovery of drowned victims under water.

The training was done 40 feet in depths or an equivalent to a 4- storey building under the sea water at the HINP’s Mayor’s Island. (Nora Dominguez)

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