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Thursday, November 11, 2004
Dive mishap highlights need for accreditation
By Oscar C. Pineda
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE dive resort whose two Japanese guests went missing after a night dive is not registered nor accredited with the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD).
PCSSD technical assistant Macario “Kitoy” Mercado said Pacific Cebu Resort’s accreditation as a dive center expired last Feb. 9, 1995 and they have not renewed it since then.
Letter of Instruction 745, which created the commission, together with its rules and regulations, requires every diver and dive facility to register with the commission before operating.
But Mercado lamented that most of these foreigners are not registered with the commission. He admitted, though, that the commission has no police powers to run after offenders.
In case any resort incurs liabilities, the facility will be answerable to the local government unit where they are located, he said.
Without guide
Masahiro Kajita, 25, and Chihiro Nawa, 20, went on a night dive about 8:30 p.m. last Monday at the vicinity of the resort in Barangay Suba Basbas, Lapu-Lapu City.
Fishermen found Kajita’s body the next day in the neighboring Cordova town, while Nawa remained missing as of press time.
The two foreigners, who were undergoing training as dive instructors, went without a dive guide.
PCSSD is an organization charged with overseeing the development, promotion and professionalization of the diving industry in the country.
For accredited members, Mercado said, the commission regularly inspects the dive center’s equipment and area to ensure the safety of divers.
Even gas tanks must be inspected as the air inside it is sometimes contaminated with carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide.
The commission runs the recompression chamber in the military hospital in Camp Lapu-Lapu in Lahug, Cebu City.
For accredited members, the use of the chamber is free.
The recompression chamber cures divers of the “bends” as it eliminates the nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream.
If left untreated, the bends or nitrogen narcosis can be fatal.
PCSSD is under the Department of Tourism, with the secretary as chairman, and the general manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority as its vice chairman.
(November 11, 2004 issue)
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