By DAVE SUAN ALBARADO

Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado has signed the implementing rules and regulations of a landmark provincial ordinance overhauling the regulation of whale shark watching in the province, laying the legal groundwork for the revival of a signature ecotourism draw that has been shuttered for more than a year following a crackdown on unregulated feeding and unpermitted operations.

Aumentado signed the IRR of Provincial Ordinance No. 2026-004 — formally titled the Enhanced Sustainable Marine Wildlife Interaction Ordinance of the Province of Bohol — on the evening of April 27, 2026, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework governing how tour operators, local government units, and visitors may interact with whale sharks, dugongs, and other protected marine wildlife in provincial waters.

The signing marks the most important step toward reviving an attraction that was suspended in February 2025, when provincial authorities ordered the halt of whale shark watching operations in the coastal municipalities of Lila, Albur, and Dauis.

The shutdown followed mounting issues over unregulated feeding of the marine animals, environmental degradation at interaction sites, and the failure of operators to secure the required national permits.

The closure dealt a blow to Boholanos  that had come to rely on the tourism activity as an alternative source of income.

NEW RULES

The ordinance, sponsored by Board Member Lucilla Lagunay and passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, represents a fundamental departure from the loosely governed system that preceded the suspension.

At its core is a categorical prohibition on the feeding, baiting, or luring of whale sharks — a practice operators had previously relied upon to draw the marine animals to designated interaction sites.

Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Handel Lagunay said the no-feeding rule was non-negotiable and consistent with a memorandum circular issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Only the natural, unprompted appearance of whale sharks will be permitted under the new rules.

Any activity found to generate stress, physical harm, or behavioral disruption in marine wildlife is likewise prohibited.

“The measure is focused on providing the necessary guardrails to protect marine wildlife,” Lagunay said. “The tourism aspect is only an offshoot.”

He added: “The whale shark is part of national patrimony and should not be subjected to abuse.”

To operate legally under the new framework, a local government unit must satisfy a multi-layered set of requirements before it may host whale shark watching activities.

These include enacting a local ordinance banning the feeding of marine wildlife, identifying a designated interaction site, establishing an enforcement and monitoring system, and obtaining an Environmental Compliance Certificate. LGUs must also secure a Certificate of Compliance issued directly by the governor’s office.

Operators face a parallel and equally demanding set of requirements: a valid business permit, accreditation from the Department of Tourism, compliance with the Maritime Industry Authority, trained and qualified personnel, documented safety protocols, and adequate physical facilities.

All applications must first pass through an advisory board chaired by the DENR for evaluation before the governor’s office will issue a compliance certificate.

Lagunay acknowledged the new framework was considerably more demanding than anything that had previously governed the industry.

“Those who want to operate the attraction need to jump over several hoops before they can earn a permit to operate,” he said.

There is no cap on the number of LGUs that may apply to host marine wildlife interaction activities under the ordinance.

The clearest sign of eagerness to resume came from Victorino Garay, president of VicTour’s Recreational Hub, which had operated whale watching tours in Albur before the suspension.

Garay said he was already in the thick of preparations to file for reopening and expressed gratitude to Aumentado for signing the IRR.

“He thanked Governor Aumentado for signing the IRR and giving them hope to return to business and alternative livelihood for local fisherfolk,” Garay said.

VicTour’s is described as a community-based operation, with most of its workforce drawn from Albur residents.

For Garay, the resumption of the activity carries implications beyond his business alone — the attraction has historically provided supplemental income to local fishermen who shift to guiding and boat operations during the tourism season.

Garay said he was optimistic that the return of whale watching would attract more visitors to Bohol.

He acknowledged, however, that the no-feeding policy posed a serious practical challenge.

Operators had previously used baitfish to reliably draw whale sharks to interaction zones, a method now explicitly outlawed.

Garay said he was confident an alternative approach could be developed to draw the animals naturally, and said he was prepared to comply fully with all provisions of the IRR.

CONSERVATION

Whale sharks — known in the Philippines as butanding — are the world’s largest fish and are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Despite legal protections under Philippine law, the species has long been the subject of controversy over tourism practices across the country.

The most prominent example is the whale shark feeding program in Oslob, Cebu, a short distance across the Bohol Sea from the province.

Marine biologists and conservation groups have repeatedly criticized the Oslob model, linking sustained feeding to changes in the animals’ natural migration patterns, dependence behavior, and documented physical injuries from boat propellers.

The site nonetheless draws hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists annually, making it one of the Philippines’ most commercially successful — and most contested — wildlife tourism attractions.

Bohol’s new ordinance represents an explicit attempt to break from that model, conditioning the revival of the activity on a strict no-feeding standard from the outset.

The ordinance’s protective scope also extends beyond whale sharks to dugongs and other marine wildlife found in provincial waters.

Aumentado, in appealing to prospective operators to comply with the IRR, said the provincial government was hopeful that the ordinance would strike a workable balance between protecting the marine ecosystem and sustaining the livelihoods of communities that depend on it.

He thanked the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for passing the ordinance.

Board Member Lucilla Lagunay, who sponsored the measure, was specifically cited for her role in shepherding it to passage.

The province has not announced a timeline for when the first Certificate of Compliance may be issued or when the first whale shark watching sites may reopen to the public.