PANGLAO MAYOR LEONILA P. MONTERO
The local government unit (LGU) of Panglao is postponing the staging of the 2nd Dive Festival, which is supposed to be held on May 4 to 9, 2021, according to information coming from the said town government.
In a post on the town’s official Facebook page, on Thursday, April 29, 2021, Panglao mayor Leonila Montero convened the members of the Executive Committee (Execom), which manages the 2nd Dive Festival to an emergency meeting on Thursday, to discuss the status of the said event given the situation of the surge of Covid cases in Bohol.
In the said emegency meeting, that started at 2:30 pm on Thursday, at the office of Panglao mayor, the Execom unanimously decided to postpone the staging of the 2nd Dive Festival and instead hold the event on June 16 to 20, 2021.
The post on Facebook said that the Execom decided to postpone the said event due to the increasing number of individuals infected with the Coronavirus disease (Covid) in the province.
The post added that Mayor Montero and the rest of the top members of the Execom considered the recommendation of Dr. Anne Villanueva, one of the respected medical doctors of the LGU who was present during the emergency meeting.
The mayor of Panglao has repeatedly expressed her sincere concern and that she can not afford to risk the health and wellness of all the competing individuals coming from different regions, more so, the health and well-being of Panglao residents.
Meanwhile, LGU Panglao received a letter from the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF) signed by Provincial Administrator Kathyrin Pioquinto, who is also the BIATF Executive Director, asking the said LGU to postpone the 2nd Dive Festival.
A source said that the LGU received the BIATF’s letter at around 3:43 pm on Thursday, at a time when the Execom already decided to postpone the Dive Festival event.
DIVE FESTIVAL
The 2nd Dive Festival is one of Panglao’s events aiming to spur tourism activities in the town. The event is also a way to reinforce Panglao’s stature as the Diving Mecca of Bohol.
The last time Panglao hosted a Dive Festival was 6 years ago, according to sources from the LGU.