Diwata Aquascape, an academic leisure facility, is now going to serve its purpose after it was turned over to the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS), UP Visayas (UPV).
UPV Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (VCPD) Martin G. Genodepa officially turned over the facility to CFOS in a simple ceremony on February 19, 2019. The aquascape is located at the five-hectare shoreline property of the University in Brgy. Mambatad, Miagao campus.
Genodepa believes that the CFOS is the right institution within the University to handle the management and operation of the facility better to be an educational platform that can be shared with the community.
Representing the CFOS, Ms. Soledad Garibay, coordinator of the UPV Museum of Natural Sciences, laid down some of the plans that CFOS will do in line with the operation of the aquascape.
The facility features the aquaria of tropical and marine living species, a marine museum, and an area for interactive learning on aquatic and environmental sciences.
The Diwata Aquascape is one of the four components of the Diwata Shore Project started by former UPV Chancellor Minda J. Formacion and VCPD Alice Joan G. Ferrer in 2010. The project is conceived as an integrated facility that will infuse university dynamics into the local tourism industry. The construction of the aquascape was realized with an initial funding of P15 million coming from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of Banat (Barangay Natin) Partylist representative Salvador “Buddy” Britanico and P20 million allocation from the annual budget of UPV.
