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By Rene Soliman and Jiji Bautista Ezequiel, Philippines
The picturesque seaside town of Pandan in Antique is the setting for "Dasigay Bugsay" - the annual Pandan Boat Rowing Competition. Coinciding with the town fiesta on April 24, 2001, the inaugural staging of the race is a milestone in Pandan's history.
It also promises to be a landmark event that puts the spotlight on Pandan as a new sporting, ecological and tourist destination in Western Visayas.
What does Pandan offer the visitor? For starters, the town lies at the heart of the Northwest Panay Peninsula, one of the richest and most biologically diverse natural environments in the country. The area boasts two major watersheds, Malumpati and Nabaoy, as well as the only remaining intact lowland elevation forest in Western Visayas.
This makes the peninsula, and Pandan in particular, an ecological wonderland. The area is home to some of the most exotic flora and fauna in the country.
Among the bird species that have found sanctuary there are the bleeding heart pigeon, white-throated jungle flycatcher, Visayan Tarictic hornbill and the critically endangered writhed-billed hornbill, known locally as the dulungan.
The dulungan, one of the rarest hornbills in the world, has been declared the municipal bird of Pandan as well as the provincial bird of Antique, making it a fitting symbol of the proud and fiercely loyal spirit of Pandananons everywhere.
The Pandan area also teems with other rare wildlife like the Visayan spotted deer, Visayan warty pig (talunun), pygmy fruit bat, common short-nosed bat (kyapnit) and the giant golden crowned flying fox (kabog).
Indeed, Northwest Panay Peninsula is a prime candidate for inclusion in the National Integrated Protected Area System and local leaders are working hard to make this a reality.
Pandananons take their priceless natural assets seriously - and it shows in the care and attention they accord the environment, and in the awards they have reaped in the process.
The Bugang River, the waterway that flows through the town, has won the title of cleanest river in Western Visayas for six years running (1996 to 2001) and has been a consistent finalist in the national category for that period.
In October 2000, Pandan received a presidential citation for having the best coastal resources management program in the country.
Recognizing that good environmental practices know no boundaries, town executives actively share their knowledge and expertise with their colleagues from neighboring municipalities.
Pandan is an active member of the Lipasecu Baywide Management Council, which is composed of the Northern Antique towns of Libertad, Pandan, Sebaste and Culasi.
It is also part of the Northwest Panay Biodiversity Management Council together with Libertad town and three Aklan municipalities - Nabas, Malay and Buruanga.
As Pandananons launch a new sporting event in Dasigay Bugsay, they will be celebrating not only the community town fiesta, but also their love for nature and their new-found unity as able stewards of the environment.
Information: Courtesy of Mayor Antero Rectra. Thanks to the Pandan Municipal Mayor. |
