GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- To help raise awareness on taking care of marine resources, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 12 conducted a two-day SOCCSKSARGEN or SOX Dive Cleanup from June 1-2, 2022, in the municipalities of Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang (KaLePa), Sultan Kudarat province.

“Part of discovering new tourism sites in the region is doing this kind of activity. We need to raise awareness on how to take care of our environment. KaLePa has lots of natural resources and we need the community to help protect and preserve it,” OIC regional director Armin H. Hautea of DOT 12 said.

“We do not just instantly promote this emerging destination. There are lots of considerations, including the community preparation and setting up dive shops, as well as dive advocates,” he added.

The first cleanup drive organized by the DOT 12 was conducted at the coastal area of Barangay Medol, Palimbang. More than 40 kg of trash were collected during the activity. On the second day, a coastal and underwater cleanup were also held in Barangay Santa Clara, Kalamansig where a total of 325 kg of trash were collected and 476 crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) extracted from the coral garden of Kalamansig.

Leading the cleanup drive was the “Drive and Dive Sarangani” divers with other participating agencies in the region. The team also attended the culmination program held in the municipality of Lebak.

In Soccsksargen, there were COTS infestations recorded particularly in Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape. The local governments and their communities particularly the coastal towns of Glan and Maasim have initiated the COTS extraction as one of the mitigating measures recently done to help combat the problem.

The crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), is a large seastar that feeds upon hard, or stony coral polyps. Its name is derived from its venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface. Dense aggregation of COTS can strip a reef 90% of its living coral tissues and this can indirectly affect fish populations that depend on coral reefs for habitat.

Factors that influence COTS outbreaks include excess nutrients from run-off in the ocean and overfishing or removal of their natural predators (e.g. Triton’s trumpet, Napoleon wrasse, white-spotted pufferfish, and titan triggerfish), as well as the continuous rise in sea surface temperature due to climate change exacerbated by various anthropogenic activities (e.g. improper waste management, deforestation, agricultural land run-off, overfishing).

DOT 12 identified Kalamansig-Lebak-Palimbang or KaLePa as one of the tourism circuits and an emerging diving destination in the region. As part of DOT’s future plans, tourism training programs will be conducted in KaLePa to support the growing dive industry in this area. The SOX dive cleanup was part of the Dive SOX campaign of DOT 12. It was launched on May 28 at Lemlunay Resort, Maasim, Sarangani province, in line with the celebration of the Sarangani Bay Festival 2022.

According to DOT 12, Dive SOX is a campaign established to sustain the diving industry in Soccsksargen as one of the economic drivers in terms of tourism. Hautea said the Dive SOX campaign started three years ago when the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving, in coordination with DOT 12, conducted a Rapid Exploratory Assessment in Maasim and Glan in Sarangani.

It was then followed by the development of Dive SOX logos of which the official logo today was chosen from and later adopted by the Regional Ecotourism Committee 12 as the logo to be used for any dive activity in the region. Thus, the Dive SOX campaign is introduced.

According to DOT 12, one of the main objectives of the Dive SOX Campaign is to take advantage of the opportunity to check on the current state of the coasts and their marine habitats. Included in the Dive SOX strategies and activities are Sarbay Exploratory Dive Assessments, Scuba Diving Awareness to Tourism Stakeholders, Dive SOX Branding Development, Tourism Stakeholders Open Water Dive Class and Training, among others.

The SOX dive cleanup activity was also in partnership with the municipal local government units of Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang; the barangay LGUs of Medol and Santa Clara; Bureau of Fire Protection; Philippine Coast Guard Southern Mindanao District; Sultan Kudarat Maritime Police; 2nd Sultan Kudarat Provincial Mobile Force Company; Kalamansig Coastguard Sub-Station; the municipal police stations of KaLePa and their community members; and the drivers of the Drive and Dive Sarangani. (Genory Vanz Alfasain, VOTY contributor)