ANKORA FREEDIVING: A PIONEER FOR REGENERATIVE TOURISM IN SIQUIJOR

*This press release was first published by the Province of Siquijor produced by the Office of the Governor. Reposted here in full.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The sport of freediving has been gaining popularity in recent years, with Siquijor seeing a steadily expanding freediving market. One freediving school has taken it upon itself to ensure that this tourism activity is rooted in sustainability by campaigning for a model that protects the ocean from destructive tourism and the local community from being displaced by unchecked tourism growth.

SIQUIJOR, PHILIPPINES — Ankora Freediving has been making waves for Siquijor since the start of 2026. It began with the launch of the Siquijor Ecotourism Circuit on March 21, 2026, an initiative by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in collaboration with Ankora Freediving, later supported and sponsored by Molchanovs International. This project championed regenerative tourism through the training and certifying of 35+ marine sanctuary guides in Molchanovs freediving standards and equipping them to educate tourists in safe marine life interaction, replacing extractive careers with ones that protect the ocean. The goal of the project is to create a symbiotic relationship between tourists, locals, and the reefs, while positioning Siquijor as one of the best freediving destinations in the country. Ankora's vision is to train all guides in the 23 Marine Protected Areas (they trained 7 sanctuaries out of the 23 so far), giving the entire island an array of Molchanovs-certified freediving guides to draw more freediving tourists to the market, with the aim of surpassing Panglao, Mabini, Moalboal, and the like in freediving education prestige. With Molchanovs International's continued cooperation, Ankora is set to make this vision a reality in the near future. For Siquijodnons, this means an active stake in this growing sector of the tourism market and a promising new income stream rooted in conservation. 

• 

• 

Shortly after the circuit's launch, Ankora’s co-founder Karissa Regaliza competed in and won the crown of Aqua Queen of The Universe, a national freediving and ocean advocacy beauty pageant held last May 2, 2026 in Mabini, Batangas. Her winning short film centered on Ankora’s work with the local marine sanctuaries and was shot and directed by Siquijor’s premier filmmaker, Jedo Gairanan. The crown has given Siquijor a national platform and since her win, Karissa has been active in promoting ocean stewardship through freediving and highlighting Siquijor’s sanctuaries in noted media platforms such as on Julius Babao UNPLUGGED and DWIZ news TV, among others.  

Ankora’s most recent milestone for Siquijor was being awarded in the Good Stories Movement ceremony by The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Global Guardians of the SEA, which was held on June 18, 2026 in the DENR Social Hall in Quezon City for their advocacy work on Siquijor. This award was given to Ankora’s co-founder John Gasparich among others such Anna Reyes, Executive Director of Sustina Earth and Eren Noche of Noble Queen LTD and AQULI LTD. The award was recognized and signed by international leaders in environmental law and governance, including Sec. Juan Miguel T. Cuna (Secretary of the DENR, Philippines), former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Hilario Davide Jr., Durwood Zaelke (Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, Washington DC), Nicholas Robinson (Consortium for Ecological Law, New York), Lye Lin Heng (Asia-Pacific Center for Environmental Law, Singapore), Emilie Gaillard (Normandy Chair for Peace, France), and David Forman (Co-Director of the Environmental Law Program at the University of Hawaii ). Recognition at this level brings national attention to Siquijor as an example of what tourism can look like when it is balanced with community development, ecological protection, private sector investment, and support from the local government, setting the stage to establish Siquijor as one of the global leaders in sustainable and regenerative tourism.

“Their story is proof that when you choose service over self-preservation, the sea gives back.” — Certificate of Global Gratitude, presented to Ankora Freediving’s John Gasparich (TGSM, DENR, IGSD, & partners)