This particular trip also had a tremendous amount of activity outside the water because we had a VIP guest on board for a day. President GMA scuba dived with us! Flying in by helicopter, GMA landed on a navy boat near ours and then took a smaller chase boat over.

Of course the first order of business as soon as she arrived was picture taking! As various setups were being organized—GMA with crew, GMA with etc., etc.—I had a non-Kodak moment when I handed my camera to a simply dressed man in the entourage and asked him to take our picture. Horrors! He turned out to be Rep. Tony Alvarez of Palawan. Luckily, the good congressman is a friend of my uncle, Mauro Prieto, and was only too happy to oblige.

GMA actually did two dives with us and showed her good underwater skills when our second dive hit a moderate current. After the diving, she took time to visit the Ranger Station on the reef. One wonders what the election results were among the eight men who take three-month stints patrolling the marine park.

Scuba diving with President Arroyo