Bisdak Babbles

This image was taken from Wikipedia
I have been watching a lot of i-witness documentaries, one of them was Sisid Barko which was shot in the Babuyan Islands. The place is really awesome… it’s paradise! Aside from its pristine white beaches and clear blue seas, humpback whales abound there. Moreover, there are dozens of sunken shipwrecks around the islands… ships from the time of the Galleon Trade and World War 2. Because of these, the Philippine Government planned to promote the Babuyan Islands as a diving spot. But, how long will it take to implement this, or will this ever be taken into action?

The Babuyan Islands may be rich in natural resources, but the people there are living in poverty. Farmers stopped farming because it’s very hard to transport their produce to a more populated area. Fishermen stopped fishing because fishes are becoming scarce due to dynamite usage. Years ago, the seas were turned into “gold mines” because the residents found gold and silver coins from the sunken shipwrecks. But when there’s no more coins, they turned to salvaging steel from five sunken shipwrecks that are all within humpback whales breeding grounds. To make the task easier, they use dynamites. This doesn’t only destroy the corals, but this scare away the whales! Plus, without the proper diving equipments, these people are always putting their lives on the line.

I couldn’t really blame the locals for doing this. They’re very desperate to survive and to get out of poverty that they’re not thinking about the effects of their actions. Promoting the place as a tourist spot would definitely generate jobs. Certainly the people then would also come to realize that preserving and protecting the sunken shipwrecks and the islands’ natural resources is definitely a good thing.

I hope the government would do what they are planning to do as soon as possible. Rescue Babuyan Islands now before it’s too late…