Adventure lovers savor a cool river after canyoneering in Alegria town. (ALEGRIA CANYONEERING FACEBOOK ACCOUNT)
Five community-based ecotourism projects are set to be launched this year, showing midwest Cebu’s less-known attractions in canyoneering, river cruises, mountain trails, dolphin-watching and local food tasting.
Local governments of Aloguinsan, Alegria, Asturias, Balamban, and Tabuelan presented their business plans for projects to be launched this summer.
Each locality pitched proposals for counterpart funding from the province.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, chairperson of the Provincial Tourism Commission (PTC), said Tabuelan’s proposed river cruise stood out during the whole-day presentation at the Capitol Social Hall yesterday.
“Some are really viable projects. We just need to tweak them a little bit,” she told reporters.
The presentations went on until the afternoon and were attended by town mayors, municipal planning officers, and tourism officers, among others.
The town of Aloguinsan, which offers paddle boat river cruises, will develop a dolphin-watching program. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
Aloguinsan, already well known for its Bojo river cruise, is proposing a P6-million dolphin-watching project.
Alegria wants to improve canyoneering in its mountains and rivers for P6.6 million.
Asturias will set up a P3.5-million Buswang Ecopark, with proposed trekking activities in Balamban.
Mariefe Gerona, wife of Tabuelan Mayor Rex Gerona, presented their town’s proposed Batawang River Cruise project estimated to cost P4.7 million.
Gerona said it would be modeled after the famous Loboc River Cruise in Bohol. The LGU is already building a boat.
“We will need to build a docking area, waiting shed for visitors, and improve our Wi-Fi connection in our family park,” she said.
The Batawang River in barangay Poblacion is a short distance from transport terminals and the town’s public market.
Gerona said they willlaunch the project in March or April.
The cruise will feature local cuisine including native chicken in tuba called “tubisnok”, a combination of Tuba-Bisaya-Manok, alimangong humba from crabs, budbod cassava with chocolate, and the town’s take on binangkal.
Gerona said the cruise will have four trips daily, and focus on local dishes and a tour of mangrove sites.
Since the town has no active people’s organizations, the project will be run and managed by the LGU until the community is ready.
The town is asking for P3.2 million as the Capitol’s counterpart while P1.5 million will be shouldered by the LGU.
The Capitol has allocated P16 million for ecotourism projects in its Annual Investment Plan (AIP) for 2016.
All five LGU proposals total P24.4 million.
Magpale said a specific allocation will be given for each town.
“It doesn’t mean that if the money is there, we’ll approve everything. We have to evaluate their proposals,” she said.