By Russtum G. Pelima
GUMASA, Glan, Sarangani (April 26, 2011) - With the number of guests and visitors tripling in the past three years, from 5,700 in 2007 to 17,500 in 2009, Sarangani Bay Festival is becoming the biggest beach party in Southern Philippines.
Usually held in the last week of May, SarBayFest is one of the two provincial festivals celebrating the province’s chartered anniversary which is on May 19. The other one is the MunaTo Festival and Sarangani Foundation Anniversary in November.
Remarkably last year, the province launched its tourism brand “Sarangani: Your Adventure” tagging the adventure tourism circuit throughout the province’s seven municipalities. Some of these are the white water tubing in Maitum, snorkeling in Kiamba, diving in Maasim, and trekking in Malungon.
Sarangani Bay Festival this year is on May 19 to 21.
“Each year we are improving our celebration [of the festival],” said Vic Camacho, executive committee chair.
Among journalists flooding to Gumasa white sand beaches to cover SarBayFest, the most challenging yet fulfilling event is covering the Swim-across-the-Bay from start to finish, a 15-kilometer swim relay contest from Tinoto Point in Maasim to Tango village in Glan participated in by professional groups of swimmers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The first-ever swim across Sarangani Bay on May 18, 2006, the 1st SarBayFest, was participated by six teams.
Then, Dadiangas Torpedoes team of General Santos City (official time – 04:05:18 hours) won by just two minutes over MJ Powerpines of Maasim (04:07:12 hours). The Maasim Swimming Team clocked in with 4:57:26 for 3rd place.
Then swim manager Guiseppe Chew described the race as “the longest open ocean marathon swimming competition in the country and probably in Asia.” The Swim-across-the-Bay is a brainchild of Chew who now lives abroad.
Related swimming competitions have been staged in Guimaras Strait (approximately 5km.), the body of water separating Guimaras and Panay islands. Also in Samal Strait (5km.), separating Samal Island and mainland Davao, Chew said.
For his part, Dr. Tranquilino Ruiz said what is more important about the celebration is to know the history and oral literature about Sarangani Bay. Ruiz is a known local historian of Glan, Sarangani’s oldest town.
“Sarangani is as old as our very own race, Malay. When Ruy Lopez de Villalobos happened to reach this part of the ocean in their search for provision in 1543, his chroniclers wrote Sarangani to mean ‘This is our territory’ or ‘We stop here’ according to the Indonesian language,” Ruiz said.
Sarangani Province was established in 1992 by then Rep. James L. Chiongbian, spurring the former sleepy third district of South Cotabato to development.
The province was named after Sarangani Bay. The bay was believed to have been named from Saranganing, a famous Sangil voyager who came from the coast of Indonesia and traded with the great Sultanate of Buayan, now General Santos City.
Sarangani Bay hosts rich marine resources including marine wildlife and the tuna capital of the Philippines - General Santos City.
Today, Sarangani has at least 18 resorts accredited by the Department of Tourism. Most of these resorts are the white sand beaches in Gumasa such as White Haven, Rosal, Coco Beach (09195330408), and the new Isla Jardin del Mar (09107073479). These resorts host the beach sports activities of SarBayFest.
Last year, SarBayFest kicked off in Maasim town’s Lemlunay Dive Resort with a reggae party in the evening.
The opening day is usually followed in the next two days with lumba bugsay, skimboarding, beach football, beach frisbee exhibition games, sepak takraw, beach fair, sand sculpture competition, bay bodies bikini open, and summer night beach party, bancarera, fun bike ride, beach volleyball, cheerdancing competition and concert by the bay.
Sarangani is becoming the ultimate destination for the entire Region XII and SocSarGen area in terms of tourism. It has triggered the development of beach resorts across the province particularly in Gumasa, the Boracay-like destination in Mindanao.
“The objective of this festival is to merge our efforts in promoting tourism,” Gov. Migs Dominguez said. “Second, is to use that as a vehicle to increase awareness especially in the mainstream market in terms of looking at the riches and the resources of Sarangani Bay.”
Local government units, non-government organizations and the business sector come together to celebrate and to increase community awareness in environmental conservation during the SarBayFest.
“We are celebrating the beauty and the goodness of the bay,” said Vice Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon. “Every year people will be reminded of how beautiful and how generous the bay has become for us that we should continue to preserve it.”
Last year, SarBayFest preludes with a cetaceans awareness training. Volunteer experts in marine mammals from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conducted a weekend marine mammals awareness seminar among local officials, employees and private representatives.
“The sightings of marine wildlife in Sarangani Bay such as pygmy sperm whale, whale shark, seacow, lemon-headed whale, fraiser dolphin and marine turtles signify that the bay has a rich biodiversity,” said Jo Marie Acebes.
Acebes works with the WWF and a doctorate candidate in Murdoch University in Western Australia.
Sarangani’s ECPC has documented sightings of the said marine mammals at the 215,950-hectare Sarangani Bay, a protected seascape through Presidential Decree 756.
“These cetaceans should remain in the wild. We see them all over the world’s wildlife. That includes Sarangani Bay,” Jose Marie Tan, WWF Chief Executive Officer said. Cetacean is the term applied to species of dolphins and whales.
Maitum and Kiamba had both passed municipal ordinances declaring barangays Old Poblacion and Suli as nesting grounds for marine turtles respectively.
In 2006, then Board Member Rommel Tomas Falgui passed a resolution at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan institutionalizing the celebration of the Sarangani Bay Festival each May. (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)
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