I Am Blogie

I just wanted to share this video produced by the Department of Tourism – Region 11, which is most ably led its by regional director, Arturo P. Boncato, Jr. I’m very happy that folks at tourism organizations are now starting to promote scuba diving in the Davao Region.

Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal are well-served destinations in terms of professional diving services, but other areas are also starting to emerge. Mati, for one, has a huge potential for diving. Hopefully, continuing promotions will help boost scuba-diving tourism in the rest of the region.

The video promotes many activities to be experienced in different parts of Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental. I like how the DOT-11 people have done it, complete with the official domestic jingle of the current It’s more fun in the Philippines campaign of the national government.

Kudos to Mr. Boncato & his team!!

Davao Reef Divers Club

On 31 January 2012, the Davao Reef Divers Club held its regular elections to put in place a new board of trustees and set of officers for 2012-2013. It is the longest-running dive club in this part of the country, and counts among its members divers of various backgrounds. It is also one of the forerunners in the advocacy for marine environment protection, through its scubasurero clean-up dives and, very recently, its drive to deploy artificial reef domes in Samal.

I joined the club only last July 2011, but I have been given the opportunity to serve as its president this term. My predecessor, Dr. Fred Medina, ably led the club to where it is now, and — and I am grateful for this — remains as a member of the board.

Joining me in the board is one of my regular dive buddies, Christian Te, who will serve as treasurer this term. The other members of the board are the following: Dene Hurtado (club secretary), Atty. Chuck Delgra, Ursula Galope, Shauming Lo, dive instructors John Neri & East Pardillo, and Keith Smith.

For this year, we plan to continue the club’s ongoing efforts to protect the marine environment (which is also part of my own involvement with the Save the Philippine Seas movement). Additionally, I would like to have scuba diving seriously recognized as a sport here in Davao. This move would help encourage more Dabawenyos to take up this worthwhile activity, and ultimately promote Davao as a diving destination. Needless to say, scuba diving can be a tool for promoting tourism in this part of the country.

I look forward to achieving the goals of Davao diving, and I thank my fellow dive club members for the trust that they have accorded me!

The AquaShots Underwater Photo Contest is an annual activity that aims to showcase the beauty and diversity of undersea life in the Davao Gulf. (Recently, the Gulf was declared as a priority area for marine biodiversity protection.) It is a project of the Davao Reef Divers Club.

A few years ago, the Davao Reef Divers Club began holding the AquaShots contest to help keep interest in scuba diving alive. While scuba diving in itself is a worthwhile activity, underwater photography provides divers with an added challenge. Taking pictures underwater is a lot different than on land: not only are you a photographer (who has to know about proper white balance, etc.), but also a certified scuba diver (who has to constantly keep safe diving practices in mind, among other things).

While AquaShots is participated in by divers and snorkeling enthusiasts, the output — pictures of tropical fish, colorful sea slugs, coral, and more — is for everybody’s enjoyment. It is hoped by the Davao Reef Divers Club that, by sharing what they see and experience under the sea, everyone who sees their photographs will come to appreciate the splendor of the seas. And, hopefully, join in the effort to keep Davao Gulf clean and healthy.

Tropical bottletail squid

The Davao Gulf is home to thousands of species of marine life. There are squids that are no bigger than your pinky fingernail, and there are whales as big as container vans. Hard and soft coral varieties are in abundance all over the gulf. Through AquaShots, every Dabawenyo has a chance to see these wonders.

AquaShots 2011, which runs from 19 to 21 November at the Gaisano Mall of Davao, features three categories: Underwater Macro, Underwater Wide, and Topside. With over 100 entries in this year’s contest, it is by far the largest turnout to date. Winners will be recognized during the Club’s Christmas Party next month.

If you’d like to join the Davao Reef Divers Club, call 300-1092 and talk to John or Dick.

I wrote an article about mooring buoys and the destruction caused by anchors for the Save the Philippine Seas site. The backdrop is the Davao Gulf, but the situation, I believe, can be applied anywhere in the country (or the world, for that matter). Please click below to read the post:

Why we need mooring buoys

Thanks to Twitter, I found another diver who has seen Davao Gulf underwater and has blogged quite beautifully about it. The diver is Chris Mitchell (@divehappy), and his article is linked below:

Davao Scuba Diving, Philippines – The New Muck Diving Destination

Welcome to our new blog!

We’re newbie divers who love Davao Gulf, and we’ve come together to document our dives and related activities. We want to share our experiences so that more people will come to appreciate the true value of the life-giving waters of the Philippines’ waters.

The video here was taken at the Coral Garden dive site, off the coast of Talikud Island. It was my third dive at that site, and was part of my check-out dives with the Carabao Dive Center.

I’m Blogie Robillo, and I’m a blogger and social-media activist (human rights, freedom of expression, environment protection). My main reason for diving is to know as much as I can about marine life so that I will be better equipped in my personal crusade to help in marine conservation efforts.

Before starting this site, I had already published several diving-related posts on my personal blog. Here they are:

• 4 June – Scuba Diving
• 6 June – Davao Gulf needs hellp!
• 8 June – Advocating for marine life
• 11 June – The Coral Gardens of Talikud
• 12 June – Destructive divers not welcome

This is to officially announce the venue and host of this year’s summit of Mindanao’s bloggers: Cagayan de Oro City. I am certain that the bloggers of Cagayan de Oro will be able to organize and stage the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit successfully. This year, we are aiming for more meaningful and practical topics.

Spearheading the CDO bloggers’ group is ChiQ Montes, who is a Web developer and WordPress themes designer. She was also one of the tireless volunteers of WordCamp Philippines 2008, held in Manila last 6 September 2008.

As with the past two Summits, MBS3 will be held sometime in October. I will leave it to ChiQ and her group to announce further details — exact date(s), venue, program, etc. — as they get finalized. I sincerely hope that we will see even more bloggers from more places in Mindanao (and beyond) attending the Summit in 2009.

In behalf of the Mindanao Bloggers core group — Andrew, Ria, MiGs™ and Winston — I’d like to extend our congratulations to the CDO Bloggers! You have our full confidence and support!