WITH its pristine white-sand beaches, coral formations and reef fishes, Panglao Island has become one of the Philippines’s popular tourist destinations.
The diving haven has attracted thousands of tourists every year, boosting business and employment opportunities in the island.
This came with a heavy price, however, as Panglao suffered from severe environmental damage due to a burgeoning solid waste management problem and the harm made to its coral reefs.
Inspired by its traders in the Visayas who are divers and ocean conservation advocates, ATFX, a global foreign exchange and contract-for-difference trading services broker, recently supported the municipality of Panglao’s coastal cleanup and reef restoration project led by Mayor Leonila P. Montero from June 16 to 21, an ATFX news release said.
Through its corporate social responsibility arm ATFX Cares and local educational partner SmarTrade Philippines, ATFX traders joined more than 100 volunteers from different groups in picking up trash along the coast of Barangay Doljo in Panglao.
They collected over 541 kilos of solid waste composed of residuals, hard plastics, bottles, cans and diapers.
ATFX also helped restore four coral beds and provided funds to maintain the reef restoration project.
“Healthy coral reefs translate to improved marine biodiversity. This in turn impacts the tourism industry in Panglao and provides employment and opportunities to locals and fishermen here,” reef ranger and dive instructor Danilo Menorias said.
In support of sustainable eco-tourism and environmental protection in Panglao, ATFX is also a sponsor of the Bohol Dive Festival 2021.
“ATFX Cares is all about creating a positive impact in communities and people around the world,” said ATFX CEO Joe Li.
“One of our priorities and advocacies is environmental protection and preservation, and we are deeply honored to participate in this project, which also helps the tourism industry in the Visayas, with our community partners,” Li said.
ATFX previously sponsored the Arayat tree-planting project in 2018, delivered goods and emergency packs to victims of the Davao earthquake in December 2019 and provided medical supplies and meals to frontliners in April 2020.