Cebu to highlight San Fran's success at PCL-Visayas confab

CEBU, Philippines - The success story of the Municipality of San Francisco, Camotes group of islands, in the field of tourism and environment will be showcased in this year’s Philippine Councilors League – Visayas Island Congress which will be hosted by the Province of Cebu.

Provincial Board Member Carmen Remedios Durano-Meca, PCL Cebu president, said they are expecting around a thousand delegates that are arriving starting today.

Some of the participants are from Luzon and Minda-nao who are eager to visit Cebu, said Meca.

With the theme, “Promoting Local Economy by Protecting the Environment,” the activity will be opened tonight at the Cebu International Convention Center with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia hosting a dinner.

“Because of the theme, we the officers of the Island decided to have a side trip benchmarking considering that Camotes has international award also,” Meca said.

However, Meca said that the trip can only accommodate 500 participants prompting them to coordinate with the Department of Tourism for the City Tour tomorrow.

Those who can join the Camotes Tour will have the chance to visit Lake Danao and Santiago Bay, all in San Francisco town and interact with local officials.

San Francisco won the Expanded-Green Wholesome Environment that Nurtures (eGWEN) Program of the Province of Cebu in partnership with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. for three consecutive years.

The program aims to make Cebu an ideal place to live, work, play, invest and do business.

San Francisco also serves as example for community-based disaster-risk reduction initiatives after winning the 2011 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction.

The Sasakawa “is a symbol of excellence and outstanding achievement in environmental inspiration and action.”

The UN recognized San Francisco’s Purok system, a home-grown disaster-risk reduction that makes communities responsible for identifying areas at risk from environmental disasters like threats and landslides.

The community-based approach allowed San Francisco to determine that the town was most at risk from fires, typhoons, and El Niño.

The community-based approach allowed the town to put up early-warning systems and to put contingency plans in place.

“As host, we are really proud to show off Camotes Island,” Meca said.

Meca was informed that councilors in Metro Manila have planned to hold their Congress in Camotes Island.

Other participants who cannot join the Camotes tour will watch the performance of the dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, visit Capitol Building, Fort San Pedro, Magellan’s Cross, Basilica del Santo Niño, Colon as the oldest street in the Philippines, Heritage of Cebu Monument and Museo Sugbo.

The two groups will converge at Oakridge Pavillion tomorrow for fellowship dinner to be hosted by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza. — (FREEMAN)