SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Antique is reminding captains of passenger vessels going to Mararison Island and other tourist destinations in the province to abide by safety requirements.
The advisory came amid the expected influx of tourists to the province in time for the observance of All Saints’ Day on November 1.
PCG-Antique Commander Perlita P. Cinco said in an interview Monday that they are expecting a huge volume of people to arrive in the province to visit the grave of their departed loved ones and to also unwind in the various tourist destinations, including the popular white sand beach on Mararison Island in Culasi town and Nogas Island in Anini-y.
“Please always ask your passengers to use life jackets,” she said, stressing that boat captains should not, at any time, allow overloading of their vessels.
There are 64 motorboats operating from Culasi Port to Mararison Island and seven boats from Anini-y town to Nogas island.
Meanwhile, Cinco said they are still waiting for a directive from their higher command on observing a full alert status.
“We usually observe full alert status from October 25 to November 5,” she said, adding that PCG personnel are also tasked to render 24/7 duty during this period.
There are 46 PCG personnel in the province assigned at the provincial station in San Jose de Buenavista Port and at the four substations in Culasi, Libertad, Caluya mainland and Semirara Island.
Cinco added that the tentative schedule of training lifeguards for resorts in the northern part of Antique is on November 5-11.
“The schedule is just tentative because we still have to meet the resort owners to finalize the schedule,” she said.
The lifeguard training is a safety requirement for resorts in the province in line with the Antique Provincial Ordinance on drowning prevention.
The training topics include basic life support, water search and rescue and endurance, which will equip lifeguards with knowledge and skills that will make them ready to respond to drowning incidents.
The PCG, together with the Philippine Red Cross and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Antique, had conducted a similar training earlier this month, which was participated in by 25 lifeguards from 15 resorts in San Jose de Buenavista and from the southern part of the province. (Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA)
