Adrao, Bobby Profile Page 1

ADRAO, BOBBY PROFILE Bobby Adrao lives life with a deep sense of purpose and obligation. From boatman to whale shark interaction officer, to dive master, Bobbys success story is among the many in the country. Born 46 years ago into a humble rural family in Donsol, Sorsogon, Bobby witnessed how a wave of change swept over the once sleepy fishing village, turning it into one of the countrys most popular tourist destinations today. Like most of Donsol residents, Bobby makes a living from the seas bounty. Although schooled in a local college as a mariner, he set out to an off the beaten path as a boatman. It was no easy job, but his wife Marilyn and five children inspired him to carry on. With his modest savings as a boatman and sheer determination, Bobby docked his boats in 2000 to become one of the first batches of licensed Butanding Interaction Officers (BIO), a training program organized under the auspices of the Department of Tourism. Besides swimming with the gentle giants, the pristine marine life in Donsol has always intrigued him. After three years of working as a BIO, Bobby took a diving course that would later earn him the title dive master. As a dive master, he advocated safe and environment-friendly diving practices. He has been working with Fun Dive Asia since 2005, while still being an on-call BIO. To date, Bobby has facilitated more than a thousand whale shark interactions and diving activities. Bobbys mastery of the sea was put to test one Sunday of January in 2013, when the unpredictable weather took an Australian couple diving at the Manta bowl, adrift in the rough sea. The entire ordeal at sea did little to dampen the Filipino hospitality in Bobby, especially when he persistently kept his tourists warm and in high spirits as they swim to safety to shore some eight hours later. He has risked his life to save other people, a commitment Bobby has taken to heart as a dive master and a Butanding Interaction Officera testament to the Filipino tourism front liner who goes beyond the call of duty.

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