Antique town, UPV embark on CHED-funded project on tourism

The University of the Philippines Visayas and the Local Government Unit of Pandan signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the implementation of the project “Tourism Initiatives Anchored on Local History and Culture” on September 30, 2021, at Pandan, Antique.

UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano and Mayor Plaridel Sanchez VI of Pandan, Antique signed the agreement. The witnesses were Sashah Dioso of the UPV Center for West Visayan Studies and Vice Mayor Raymund Nonato Gumboc.

The University of the Philippines Visayas is implementing the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-funded program titled “Tourism Studies on Island-Based Opportunities for Growth (TSIBOG) in Western Visayas. The program aims to assess the challenges and opportunities of tourism in the “new normal.”

It seeks to help build the tourist capacities of the local government units (LGUs), tourism front-liners, businesses, and academic institutions in Western Visayas through its components: human capital, food, and cultural heritage. The program is divided into three (3) clusters with seven (7) subprojects.

One of the projects under the program is “Tourism Initiatives Anchored on Local History and Culture” by the Center for West Visayan Studies, which aims to: tap the role of various stakeholders in cultural education and heritage promotion; promote understanding and appreciation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Pandan, Antique; and review existing tourism activities and identify possible cultural heritage that would form part of a tourism circuit that will be crafted and implemented.

The project recognizes that Pandan can explore culture-based tourism as its additional offering aside from the popular ecological tourism destinations for which it is known.

An inception meeting about the project was conducted on September 27, 2021, 9:30 – 11:30 in the morning at the Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall of Pandan, Antique. In the meeting, the project was discussed, and inputs from attendees were elicited.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Plaridel Sanchez VI, Vice Mayor Raymund Nonato Gumboc, SB Member Plaridel Sanchez IV, SB Member Marissa Napat-Montero, Municipal Tourism Operations Officer Mr. Fritz Guian Montaňo, and Local Government Operations Officer Mr. Raymundo Palanog representing the local government unit of Pandan, Antique, Dr. Generosa Condez (District Supervisor), Dr. Donald Antoy (Head Teacher, Sta. Ana National High School), and Dr. Charlotte Chan (Principal, Pandan National Vocational High School) representing the Department of Education – District of Pandan, Ms. Gigi Bautista-Dioso representing the Antique Association of Hotel Resort and Restaurant Owners, and Francis Valeňa representing Sto. Rosario Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The project team, who was also present during the meeting, was comprised of Sashah Dioso (Project Leader), Aprille Danilly Guintibano (Project Development Officer), Darlene Joy Calsado (Project Staff), and Vanessa Coo (Project Support Staff). (Source: CWVS/Ms. Anna Razel Ramirez, IPO]