Dive operators in Mabini town in Batangas province are asking national government agencies to consider allowing the underwater sport to resume, citing it as a much safer activity this time than leisure travels to the beach. Jake Calangi, president of the Resort Owners Association of Mabini (ROAM), said more than 2,000 resort operators, instructors and boatmen in the popular diving spot of Anilao, have lost their jobs since the Taal Volcano eruption in January and the coronavirus outbreak in March. They were ecstatic about a municipal government issuance in August that allowed local resorts to reopen, only to be shuttered anew by the national Joint Task Force COVID Shield after two weeks, Calangi said.

Cinco, M. (2020, October 1). Batangas dive operators seek Anilao reopening. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.