Greetings from Davao, Mindanao

[World Wide Diver]

Dear All

We are an English couple who live and dive in Davao, Mindanao, South Philippines. We have live here for 1 year with the purpose of diving/dive photography and undertaking exploration dives to find new places/record the marine life here. We are both keen photographers with pro-equipment.

We also use Davao as a base for other areas withinn the Philippines, Micronesia and Indonesia (1hr40mins to Palau, 1hr to Nth Sulawesi).

Both of us are PADI MSDT Instructors and we have now been travelling out of the UK for approx 5 years. Three years were spent on the Southern Turkish Med coast, much of the other time around SE Asia.

We love the Philippines for the huge range of coral/marine life biodiversity and also for the people who are amongst the best people we have met anywhere in the World.

Interesting facts about us; we recently took part in the most expensive recovery operation for 1 person ever in the Philippines. We are Philippine Airforce Search and Rescue civilian volunteers and - with 4 Filipino friends - we recovered the body of a missing climber from Lake Venado (altitude 7200ft) on Mount Apo.

This ensured continuing tourism on the mountain and the spiritual well-being of the local tribe that lives on the mountain.

Diving here is World class, with us having probably the best macro site in the Philippines - I'll post seperately about this.

Hope this gives readers a flavour for who we are and what we are about.

Look forward to contributing to the forum.

WWD

[santelmo]

welcome WWD! glad you chose to stay here in the PI. i was actually born in Davao but was raised in Manila. right now im staying in Palawan...the last frontier... :D :o

you can find other Filipino divers and foreign divers who are in the PI on Asia Forum under Philippine Shangri-la Divers and Tropang Maninisid. :D

[World Wide Diver]

Thanks for this. I'll check out the forum. Where in Palawan are you?

WWD

[santelmo]

im located in Puerto Princesa...

El Nido is also a great place to visit.... really! :D :p

[World Wide Diver]

I have not been there yet. What is the coral/reef life there?

I understand that many areas around Palawan are still being blast fished.

For example, while we were in Coron this February, we could clearly hear explosions (and feel them) on many dives.

Blast fishing outside of the islands is rampant and - because most people doing it are connected to local politicians - it's tolerated. I raised this matter with the people in the bangka collecting the local park fee (every day). They did not seem to care less.

However, the marine life on/around the Coron wrecks is very good (due to the wreck being protected by the proximity of local pearl farms).

We dived outside the islands and the area is a total marine desert - hardly any coral or fish. Totally ruined by over fishing and destructive fishing practices.

We were also told that El Nido has been affected by this. Is this true or not, and if so, what are local divers/the local community doing to protect/preserve/restore reefs and reef life?

We are a little luckier here than most as blast fishing stopped several years ago when Mayor Duterte warned people to stop. They stopped.

WWD

[santelmo]

Yes, you’re quite right to assume that blast fishing commonly known as “boong-boong” is still quite rampant. However, this is more so down south of Palawan.

It’s just ironic that this so called Last Frontier will someday be just like the rest of the islands, which is desolate of the all the natural beauty that it once boasted of.

Sad to say, everything being done by the different gov’t agencies is just ‘ningas cogon’. My dad who works down south has nothing but pure frustration with the way the local officials are handling environmental problems.

However, we were only able to do some snorkeling around the islands in Puerto Princesa where we did some island hopping and I am glad to say that the marine sanctuaries are still intact. We did a lot of fish feeding which would make you quite excited because the fish are totally friendly that they would go as shallow as 4 ft. A school of jack fish is as beautiful as ever.

Up north, particularly El Nido, there’s still a lot of nice dive spots as the local communities there are quite aware of what blast fishing and live fish business through the use of cyanide or sodium would do to the tourism industry. They are more educated now in this area, thanks to the persistence of dedicated local officials.

Hopefully, something can be done that would truly curb these malpractices. If only NGO’s would have the police power, it would be a great deterrent for would be violators.

[World Wide Diver]

Pleased to hear that attitudes are changing and that local people's attitudes are changing.

Just to say to others reading this thread that Palawan is a large island and not all (mainly the south) is being affected by unlawful fishing practices.

Also to say that there are many people who care and who are taking positive action to protect, conserve and restore reefs/reef life.

Can you say if you have the cooperation of your local mayor in protecting the reefs around El Nido?

We are currently working together (pro divers, resorts, dive shops) to actively draw up local guidelines, rules and good practice to protect reefs and reef life. This includes the local mayors.

A good example to look at is the Boracay Association of Scuba Diving Schools (BASS). This can be a model for others to follow, though what we are oing here is a little more involved in some ways.

WWD

[santelmo]

Can you say if you have the cooperation of your local mayor in protecting the reefs around El Nido?



WWD

Puerto Princesa and El Nido have different Mayors but I am sure that El Nido's Alkalde is doing her part in preserving the beauty of our last frontier as well as Mayor Hagedorn of Puerto Princesa is doing his share in protecting the tourist destinations..:cool:

you guys should try El Nido... the place is super! www.elnidoresorts.com :)

[PinayDiver]

Interesting facts about us; we recently took part in the most expensive recovery operation for 1 person ever in the Philippines. We are Philippine Airforce Search and Rescue civilian volunteers and - with 4 Filipino friends - we recovered the body of a missing climber from Lake Venado (altitude 7200ft) on Mount Apo.
WWD

Holy cow! You were involved in that rescue? That happend only last April, right? My group went up that mountain the long way, traversing from Sta. Cruz to Lake Agko (4 days, 3 nights). I remember Lake Venado to be pretty but not enough to entice me to go swimming in it. What happened exactly? Are you at liberty to share details?

And oh, welcome! Good to know that the next time I'm in Mindanao (booked in August but I'll be on the eastern side - in Butuan and Bislig), I've got a resource person to PM for Davao dive operators/dive sites.

[World Wide Diver]

Yes, the accident occured over the April holiday weekend. Jane and I along with a few other experienced divers were asked if we could help 5053 Sqd. We already knew them as we were already working together on developing safety protocols for the dive industry/working to refresh and train rescue divers for 5053.

For those who don't know, 5053 Sqd are the Search and Rescue arm of the Philippine Air Force and they fly bell Bell UH-1H 'Huey' helicopters.

The first report of the missing swimmer was made on Friday morning. A team was sent to the area in an attempt to dredge the lake. However, getting the right logistics there is extremely hard due to the altitude. Also, the bottom composition of the lake comprises of deep silt with many submerged trees. The water is black - zero visibility and very cold. So the body could not be located this way.

Late on Good Friday evening, we received a call asking if we could help. On Saturday we had to wait in Davao at the airbase for a few hours until mist/cloud cover cleared on Apo. We flew from Davao to a secured landing zone below the mountain. However, the cloud cover over the peak/Lake Venado did not clear, so we had to abandon the recovery attempt and return to Davao.

The following day - Sunday - we set off in two helicopters at 6am from Davao. We managed to land at the Lake and unloaded our gear. There were over a hundred people there - climbers, SAR auxilliaries, police, army and civilian liason.

By 8.15am we were in the water. In support we had a rubber boa and a dive physician. Conditions in Lake Venado were very poor - cold, zero viz (black like night), 2ft of silt and plenty of obstacles (trees for example). There were 5 of us in the water, and all we could do was to hold onto each other and conduct circular search patterns in the areas where people last saw the swimmer on the surface.

After 25 minutes or so, we had to leave the water because it was too cold for us to continue. Dry suits were really needed, but these are not readily available as most diving in the Philippines is in wam water.

The search continued with three divers (two divers were too cold) then after 10 minutes I had to discontinue due to the cold. My wife Jane and another pro here - Eugene Lara - continued by making expanding circular searches.

After 40 minutes (and on the last search) Eugene located the body. My wife and Eugene raised the body for the support boat to take over.

Our theory is hat the swimmer (a fit, healthy 23 year old who had even competed in triathalons) had got into difficultieds in the cold, murky water after just returning from Apo's summit. He had also been wearing long trousers which were around his thighs - possibly restricting his ability to swim.

This was a tradegy which should and could have been avoided. Lake Venado is off limits for swimming as it is the only water source for climbers to drink (after purification) and wash/cook with. Also, the local tribespeople regard the lake as a holy site.

After recovery of the body, we could not be flown out due to cloud cover so we climbed down the mountain (hard going) then were met by 5053 who flew us to Davao.

Had we not recovered the body, then the Department for the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were going to close the lake (and hence climbing on Apo) for up to 3 years, having a devastating affect on tourism and many, many people who rely upon this for their living.

We were just pleased to be able to help and feel that most would have done the same if they could have.

Our condolences go to the family and we hope that this never happens again (this was the first drowning there).

The real hero's that day were all the support people from the civilian populaion, 5053 personnel (some who spent several days on the mountain), the police, the army and the porters (I have so much respect for these people).

Also, the helicopter pilots who had never flown here (first time) who are so professional and well trained as to be able to conduct this kind of flying to the highest standards. I salute them all.

I would also like to say what a beautiful area this is here (and unspoilt). Seeing the land and rainforests from the air is something I will never forget.

Hope to see some forum members in Davao this year. PM me for info on sites and shops. Davao is a very, very safe city, so hope to see some members soon.

Regards Andrew

WWD

[PinayDiver]

Thank you so much for giving me a picture. Our group's third/last night of the traverse was spent on Lake Venado. Because it was my birthday then, a few days before the year 2000 rang in, that site stands out in my mind. It's sad that part of its story now is this one death.
(I say this because I've always found it curious that the first time I stood on Apo's Lake Agko, I was immediately told about this tourist, reportedly drunk, who got it into his head to go swimming there. He never made it out. I don't remember being told of a body ever being recovered, only that large trees that have fallen in there don't even stick out at the roots. I guess deaths in fascinating circumstances naturally get weaved into the local storytelling.)
I'll forward your account to my hiking group. I'll of course write that it's from Andrew, World Wide Diver.

[santelmo]

thanks for sharing that info. :)

[arihalos]

Hi Andrew & Jane,

I'm Ari, I'm Filipino, and I haven't been to Davao in ages. I do hope to come down there sometime this year. Do you run a diving operation? I hear that the water's great and I'd like to check it out.

[World Wide Diver]

Hi Ari

We don't run a diving operation, but are happy to advise to. We have made more than 400 dive here and know the area and dive shops here very well.

I'll send you a private message with specific info.

Hope this is helpful.

WWD