Oslob LGU, Capitol mull over online booking for whale watching

THE Municipality of Oslob will soon use an online booking system in accepting tourists who want to go whale shark watching.

The municipality, the Capitol and people’s organizations in the town agreed to limit the visitors in the area to 800 a day.

Oslob Mayor Jose Tumulak said that before December, the system will be operational.

Of the 800 visitors, 400 will be for accredited tour operators, like the Cebu Association of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos), 200 for the dive shops, 100 for walk-ins and 100 for visitors of the local government unit.

Tumulak said they are studying if the online booking system now used in Palawan is applicable in Oslob, especially since many tourists go directly to whale shark watching without booking first.

The Capitol, through the Information and Communication Technology Office (ICTO), will help set up the online booking system for the whale shark watching.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said there’s still a lot of work to do on the online booking system.

Meanwhile, the Oslob Municipal Government will have to ask permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources if they want to reclassify some parts of Barangay Tan-awan from rural into urban. The whale shark watching takes place in the barangay.

Meeting yesterday at the Capitol with the technical working group, Tumulak said a resolution on the reclassification was already approved by the municipal council.

A reclassification means that establishments are allowed to build structures three meters from the shoreline.

Right now, a big part of Barangay Tan-awan is classified as rural area. Establishments cannot build structures within the 30-meter easement from the shoreline.

Tumulak said that of the 40 resorts in the barangay, 30 have gone beyond the 30-meter easement and have to be torn down. (SCG)