If the ocean could reply to “Dagat, kamusta ka na?” (“Ocean, how are you?”), it might have a lot to say.
On 18 July, 2026, divers, ocean advocates and community partners gathered at Layag Dive Resorts in Anilao, Batangas, Philippines, to listen and take action. Held in celebration of PADI Women’s Dive Day 2026, Dagat, Kamusta Ka Na? brought women in diving together for underwater and coastal cleanups, environmental discussions and creative storytelling.
Cleaning Up the Ocean and the Coast
The event was organized by Water Gun: We Shoot Water, a women-led collective founded by Tey Clamor and Ross Veridiano. The group includes PADI-certified divers, underwater filmmakers, photographers and ocean advocates who use storytelling to encourage people to care for the ocean.
Participants collected rubbish from the water and along the coast. It was a reminder that ocean waste is not only found at dive sites. Much of it starts on land.
“Sometimes when you do cleanup dives, you just go straight to the ocean, but there’s so much trash on the shore still,” one participant shared during the event.
The work did not stop once the rubbish was collected.
What Happened to the Waste?
Through a partnership with Greencycle Innovative Solutions, Inc., suitable waste recovered during the event was managed and repurposed into reusable bags.
Participants saw what happened to the rubbish after the cleanup. Instead of being sent straight to a landfill, materials that could still be used were turned into something practical.
The partnership showed how reducing, reusing and recycling can work in real life. It also started conversations about where our rubbish goes and how our daily choices affect the ocean.
As explained in the documentary below, participants were able to appreciate, “The things that you can do from the point that you are getting the garbage from the ocean… [to] when it becomes an actual bag that you can reuse again.”
Why the Photo Contest Mattered
The event also featured an underwater photo contest. It encouraged divers to slow down, pay attention to their surroundings and photograph both the beauty of Anilao and the environmental problems affecting it.
“It is also a way for us to have an activity together, to really just slow down a bit, to really see the details of what’s happening in the ocean and be able to tell the story of the challenges,” explained Alecs Ongcal, a member of Water Gun: We Shoot Water.
For Water Gun, photos and films help people understand what divers see in the ocean. They can also bring awareness of conservation issues to people who have never tried diving.
Watch Dagat, Kamusta Ka Na?
Meet the divers, organizers and ocean advocates behind the event in the short documentary below.
Click to display the embedded YouTube video
What Happens Next?
Dagat, Kamusta Ka Na? demonstrated what a community can achieve when people take responsibility for the waste reaching our seas.
“Hopefully, future generations will still see what we are seeing right now. Maybe better. Hopefully better,” said Tey Clamor, Founder of Water Gun: We Shoot Water
So, dagat, kamusta ka na?
The ocean’s answer might be… still beautiful, still resilient, but it needs our help.
The cleanup may be over, but the question remains. What we reduce, reuse, collect and share today will help shape the ocean’s answer tomorrow.
What answer do you want future generations to hear? Contact your local PADI Dive Center and find out how your next dive can help protect the ocean.