Now Im from Bacolod, my mom's family is originally from there and when you talk about Scuba Diving with the older people in this region they always have so many macho stories to tell about the good old days of diving. The days when skip breathing was the norm and spearfishing instead of photography was the only way to shoot underwater. They had stories of shooting giant manta rays, 50 to 100kg tunas and every kind of shark Ive ever heard of at least. And in my younger days I always used to look at the Philippine Diving Map and wonder how come Negros Occidental was not on it.
Being so rich in Diving Heritage it was like time forgot about the diving in Bacolod and the rest of Negros Occidental. For years that thought was parked in the back of my mind. In early 2011 i was tasked to find a new destination for the Liveaboard I was managing to visit. We had a 15 day tubbataha itinerary and right smack in between there was a 2 day no diving lul mid trip after the boat left from dauin enroute to tubbataha.
My search began as always with the scientific community. I asked my good friends in conservation and marine biology about the west coast of Negros; it didn't take long when Danjugan Island was mentioned. Mario Marababol told me of Danjugan, a place where no recreational diving was allowed but the reefs were healthier than even Apo Island he said. He then mentioned Gerry Ledesma; wow I knew that name, and one story above all came to my mind upon hearing it.
It was 730am on a febuary morning when I finally met Tito Gerry for the first time. We met at a cafe in Bacolod and he continued to tell me of the history behind danjugan. As the story goes; in the late 80s the owners of the island needed some money and they planned to cut down a very old tree in the middle of the island to sell the hardwood. (The tree is the nesting site of sea eagles and it is still an active nesting site till this very day) For tito Gerry this was the last straw. He could no longer stand idly and watch as the people of negros continued to destroy their environment. He proposed to the owners of danjugan that he buy the whole island and dedicate it to the conservation of even just a little of Negros' environment. The rest so to speak is Philippine Conservation History.
The next day My cousin and I set out to go and see for ourselves just what danjugan had to offer. since i was on a tight schedule we only had two dives scheduled that day and we wold drive back to bacolod that night.
The first Dive at Manta Reef (nope there are no more mantas here! and when I asked tito gerry why? his answer was coz your i$%8t uncles shot them all! hohum... the Lacson legacy :P )
Name aside though the Dive at Manta point was amazing. The vis was at least 30Ms and the coral cover was comparable to the best ive seen. The sanctuary at Apo island would be a good comparison. There was a good mix of hard and soft coral and it was just so colourful that i wished I had brought a camera with me. Fish life was good I remember watching a really big school of banner fish swim up and down the reef last time i saw that many of them was in Palau. Anthias were all around and the reef was just bustling with life. As we continued our descent I saw a good sized Napoleon Wrasse swimming just above us. Swimming down the reef I couldnt help but think... why did people stop diving here?...
The second dive scheduled was on Bonifacio Reef... Bonifacio was on the south west point of danjugan; with no bouy our guide just triangulated its position and threw a makeshift marker bouy attatched to a weight into the water. Unlike Manta reef, Bonifacio was a mini Pinacle. The middle of the reef was the shallowest part and it descended downwards from there. The coral here was also in pristine condition. Large cabbage corals, stag horns, different types of sponges and softcorals were all present. The fish life here was limited to anthiases but boy was there a whole bunch of them. A few minutes into the dive I spotted a frogfish, and it definitely wasnt the last one too. There were many types of nudibranchs on this reef as well and for the second time in one day i wanted to kick myself for not bringing a camera.
All in all my first diving experience in Danjugan was a hit... And as we drove home Jet and I started talking about the next business venture. That day I never forgot... And its lead me right back to where I am now. It was the beggining of Philippine Bluewater Expeditions Inc.
www.bluewaterexpeditions.net for info email m.santos@bluewaterexpeditions.net
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