North Cotabato Calivungan Festival

By: Becky D. de Asis

Kidapawan City – The long week celebration of Kalivungan Festival of North Cotabato province ended a very successful celebration were attended a thousand tourists coming from different various municipalities and nearby provinces.

The said Kalivungan Festival, a maenuvu word which means “gathering” highlighting cultural presentation, ethnic dances, rituals, native music and games in connection the unique cultures and tradition  and it was adopted as the festivity title celebration for the yearly founding anniversary celebration of North Cotabato province.

During the 104th Founding Anniversary of the province earlier (September 01, 2018) Governor Emmylou “Lala” Talino – Mendoza said,” this is an  another milestone of the province for serving the people for a true and honest governance by giving them a good services in order to uplift the living condition of the people here”, said the governor.

The lady governor also said that she is very happy  because Mayor Sarah Duterte together with Senator Cynthia A. Villar and  Gov. Imee Marcos are also graced the said occasion in order to witnessed the prestigious Calivungan Festival of North Cotabato.

Mayor Sarah Duterte  guest speaker said, “Nalipay jud ko ug dako na giimbitahan ko ni Governor Lala Taliño nga mo guest sa founding anniversary dire; unity and solidarity and una nako na wish dire, kay mao na and hugpong nato sa kalamboan sa atong probinsya, improvement ug peace ang sunod kay kinahangalan nato ug kalinaw para makab-ot nato ang success”, said Mayor Sarah Duterte.

Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Villar also said, she is surprised that Cotabateños are very hospitable, abundant and progressive province maybe this is because the good governance of Governor Taliño to give a good living condition of the people here”, Villar said during her speech at Grand Stand, Amas, Kidapawan provincial Capitol  last Saturday.

Therefore,  Gov.Imee Marcos also added, “this is my 3rd time to attend this grand celebration of North Cotabato” I witnessed the hospitality of the people here, abundance and creativity are clearly adopted including their unique culture and traditions”, said Marcos.

The festival filled with exciting dance contests like; Bollywood dance by IPHO employees together with Carmeneous in Carmen Municipality of their ethnic and historical dance while   President Roxas municipality of their  abundance and ethnic dance and other dance entries coming from different municipalities that gives the celebration lively and successful.(By Becky D. de Asis)

Purely Filipino travel, trade expo opens in Taguig

MANILA-- A purely Philippine-travel and trade expo opened on Friday at the Central Square Mall, Taguig City where local tourist destinations, farm tours and Filipino-made products are showcased for a three-day sale.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said the exhibition is to increase the public's level of awareness on existing farms sites that can be an ideal travel spot.

"That's the idea, to increase the level of awareness and also to make it even more inclusive and sustainable. The fact that we are featuring the local products is the best proof that we would want the farmers to benefit from whatever initiatives that we have," he told reporters in an interview.

"By showcasing the unique and high quality produce from the countryside, hopefully we'll be able to increase the revenue, strategically, to also make people appreciate farm tourism even more," he added.

The Philippine Harvest, now on its 2nd edition, is themed "Sustainable Living, Food, and Travel," with emphasis on farm tourism and local food.

The event paved way for the countryside to present their products to a wider audience.

For Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), most of the region's products have been so far exposed only to the local markets, Tourism Regional Director Marie Elaine Unchuan said.

"This exhibit will really give us an opportunity to tap more markets," she told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

"Even a lot of people here in Manila and ambassadors have been going around. Hopefully, we'll be able to open more markets for our farmers," she added.

There is an array of products that can be found from the region, such as their heirloom grain, the Adlai from Bukidnon, known internationally as Job's tear, and the Ulam pineapple, which is possibly one of the sweetest pineapple variant there is. It was first developed by Dr. Juan Acosta.

"

Although it is small, the taste is very good and you can actually eat the whole thing," Unchuan said.

But aside from fresh produce, the region's Philippine Harvest booth offers more than a dozen of organic products, like the mangosteen tea and others, perfect for health buffs at the venue.

"We also have suman from Misamis Occidental, which is very unique because in their suman house, there are 16 flavors. We also have dried herbs, organic peanuts and coco sugar," Unchuan said.

In line with the DOT's bid to level up promotion of farm tourism, the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) booth presented products all produced from accredited farm tourism sites, such as Kale powder and Amadeo coffee from Cavite.

Out of 26 DOT-accredited farms, five farms from the region showcased their products at the expo, Marites Castro, chief tourism operations officer of the region, said.

The trade and travel fair, which brings together DOT-accredited farms sites across the different regions together with selected travel agencies and 30 local food exhibitors, will run from August 24 to 26. (By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora /PNA)