Batangas tourism hit after Phivolcs places temporary ban on diving

Tourism in Anilao, Batangas—a prominent diving spot in the country—is starting to drop following the recent quakes that have hit the area since last week, an exclusive report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday said.

"For the holy week, we have, yes, about four rooms that already canceled," an operator of a resort in Mabini, Batangas, said in the report.

This comes after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) ordered the temporary halt in diving activities in the area.

"Hanggang Bawang, Batangas City kung nasaan ang Isla Verde, at ganon din hanggang Lobo at San Juan at dito ay malaki rin ang ating damage na dapat imbestigahin," Undersecretary Renato Solidum said.

While diving activities are prohibited, tourists are still allowed to swim in the area.

To recall, a total of four earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 6.0, struck Luzon on Saturday afternoon, with a town in Batangas experiencing a jolt of Intensity 7.

The local government of Mabini declared a state of calamity 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, with more than 5,000 individuals in evacuation centers in the province. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News