ANTIQUE – The province of Antique – touted as the place “where the mountains meet the sea” – is yet about to rise from the great onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng”. But no storms will ever dampen the zeal of the province from striving for greater improvements.
Cynthia Blancia, provincial environment and natural resources officer, called on all partner agencies and stakeholders to continue their support.
The rehabilitation and development of the Malandog River snowballed after a thorough water quality assessment by the team of Environmental Management Bureau in 2017. Former secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resource (DENR), Roy Cimatu, then called Malandog River an “ancient tourism destination” owing to the historical fact that it attracted the 10 Bornean datus to its pristine waters.
In the offing is the implementation of Malandog’s tourism development plan which would include the display of larger-than-life statues of the 10 Bornean datus in Sitio Sumakwel, Barangay Malandog, Hamtic town. At 15 feet high and probably the tallest in Western Visayas, the statues are made of cement with bronze coating and were sculpted by John Alaban. It immortalizes the heritage of the Bornean datus and reinforces the importance of Malandog River as the cradle of civilization in Panay Island especially in the consciousness of the younger generations.
Also part of the tourism development will be the Malandog River floating restaurant, and a river cruise.
MaRiReDep Task Force members also encouraged the public to invest in any of the activities they implement since one of the objectives of Malandog River Ecotourism is to encourage community engagement to generate jobs for economic upliftment.
“Our aim is to ensure a sustainable future for all Antiqueños. As long as we work together and cooperate for the good of our environment and the people, we can achieve our goals,” said DENR-6 regional executive director Livino B. Duran./PN
