Rey Anthony Chiu

After a long delay, the government has finally looked into the migration problems in Balicasag in the hopes of keeping the island as pristine and as ideal like the promise it was projected when declared a naval reservation. At least, this as Capitol’s Socio-Economic and Environment Management cluster has pushed for Governor Edgar Chatto to formalize a memorandum of agreement with Balicasag island stakeholders for a project that would answer to the issues long besetting the island reservation. Balicasag Island, lying 10 kilometers southwest of Panglao has a world class seascapes which have been internationally recognized, making it a premier dive site. Since 1907, the American Governor General James Smith declared Pamilacan a naval reservation for lighthouse purposes, this allowed the navy and the Coast Guard to put up detachments for lighthouse operations and island security.

During the time of President Ferdinand Marcos, a presidential decree put the island under the Philippine Tourism Authority, who, under a Memorandum of Agreement, established the Balicasag Island Dive Resort in 1987, allowing it to further build billeting quarters and amenities, to promote underwater sports which the island can boast of. The same MOA largely aims to protect the marine life sanctuary that was to showcase a model for marine environmental conservation, ecological preservation and tourism. But, like all success stories, Balicasag did not only lure tourists, it also drew people to the 25 hectare island which sits on top of Bohol’s most productive seas. Now, the island’s ecological sustainability is seriously threatened from population pressures, unhampered inward migration and expanding tourist arrivals. That is however just part of the problems spawned by a tourism island.

Unlawful buildings using the island’s beach sand, substantial waste-water seepage polluting its reefs, improper waste disposal, harmful fishing practices of island dwellers, unchecked diving and snorkeling activities, unethical tourism service operations and plain disregard for sound environmental policies put the island teetering in its certain crumbling future. The MOA, which would launch the activities of the Coastal Restoration of Amazing Balicasag (CRAB) now seeks to unite all government agencies having stakes in the island to jointly pan for the restoration of the island’s lure as Bohol’s marine protected areas showcase, says Liz Quirog, SEEM Cluster head. Signatories of the MOA include Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Department of tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Housing Authority, Congressional office for the First District, Provincial Government of Bohol and the Municipality of Panglao.