Waters, harvest and sites in southern Sagada

HAPPY WEEKEND

SOUTHERN SAGADA- Senior Tourism Operations Officer Sylvia Chinnayog of the Dept of Tourism -Cordillera Administative Region representing Regional Director Jovi Ganongan, Atty Cyphrine Dalog representing Congressman Maximo Dalog Jr and Sagada Mayor  Felicito Dula launch southern Sagada tourism sites.

Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- This food basket in the southern area of this tourist town offers more than ample suppy of rice, vegetables and fruits. It oozes with refreshing nature, sightseeing and adventure sites.
    Waterfalls come from luxuriaernt and vdant watersheds emitting ample supply of water that flows to irrigation canals on to terraces of rice fields and too for domestic use.
    Southern Sagada has rice fields that produce enough rice supply feeding nearly a thousand households here residing in the four barangays of Suyo, Taccong Ankileng and Nacagang.  Some farming households sell their excess rice to Poblacion in the central part of town.
    Luxuriant waters, ample rice fields, gardens and orchards worked on by industrious people of southern Sagada manifest during Saturday market. 
    It is an obvious sight to see most vegetable and fruit vendors come from the southern part of town including nearby Balugan barangay.
    Ample water supply speaks of waterfalls particularly Pongas Falls visited by a number of tourists for quite some time and the newly launched exhilarating Ubwa Falls with its bluish waters.  
    Guest speaker regional director Jovi Ganongan of the Dept of Tourism represented by Sylvia Chinnayog, Senior Tourism Operations emphasized nature as a major attraction for Southern Sagada during the launching Oct. 29.
    “Find yourself in Sagada, find yourself in the Cordillera,” Chinnayog told tourists wishing to visit Sagada.
    “Find yourself in the Cordillera,” the DOT-CAR’s tagline paces along with the tide of tourism in the present just after the Covid pandemic.
    With its temperate to warm weather, southern Sagada favor any fruit grown with ample harvest of bananas, oranges to chisa to grapes. Yes, grapes are grown in southern Sagada.
    A perfect call for agri-tourism in the four barangays of the southern part of the town.
    This apart from the scenic sites of Ubwa Falls, Tikangan river trek and the already established Pongas Falls and Balangagan Cave.
    Lawyer Cyphrine Dalog, chief of staff of Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr said “tourism finds itself either in sunny or rainy weather” during the launching on rainy October 29.
    And so that during a rainy day when the scenic spots of Southern Sagada including Pinumdeng cloudline located within the environs of nearby Sabangan municipality and Taccong were launched at the tourism center here in southern Sagada.
    Speaking before barangay officials of Taccong and Suyo and members of the Association of Southern Sagada Environmental Guides (ASSETG) Dalog urged stakeholders and tourists to be stewards of nature.   
    And for a farming community such as southern Sagada, the very sources of natural livelihood come naturally to their everyday living, in one with cultural rites and protection, and sharing its bounty for the community of Sagada as one. 
    Tourism is sharing. Mountain Province Board Member Henry Bastian sees the southern side of town as a convergence of tourism stakeholders to partake of.
    ASSETG officer Jun Waking sees it the same way. “Guides from other part of town can bring in tourists to visit our place”, he said.
    Sharing the benefits of tourism was emphasized by Sagada Municipal Mayor Felicito Dula saying tourism is sharing the benefits for the common good.
    With the bullish opening of tourism in this tourist town, the industry has loosened its protocols to registration to on- the- spot arrival from prior two-day online registration before arrival for visitors.
    While requirement for Covid antigens have somehow relaxed, observing basic protocols as wearing facemask remains.
    Lowered rates are seen in tour packages now particularly in outdoor sites with the usual 10:1 ratio of visitors to one guide from the 7:1 guide during the early post pandemic months.
    For tourism is sharing.  Imparting culture, people’s agricultural and socioeconomic practices and what makes them as a community.
    Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Jaime Dugao looks at tourism as communications- the tourist guide to inform what and who the community is.
    Much as tourists have also their responsibility to respect the culture and the people of the place they visit. 
Indeed, tourism ain’t just quick bucks for service.