My family is from Guimaras. My great-grandmother Prescentacion grew up in a house called Roca Encantada (Enchanted Rock). My great-grandfather Benito was the governor of IloIlo and was assassinated at the young age of 31.
They had two sons: my Lolo Nanding, who became the vice president of the country twice, and Lolo Eñing, a dynamic entrepreneur who brought Lopez business acumen to an ambitious new level. The two brothers grew up in Iloilo in what we call the Boat House, but would go to Guimaras often.
During my dad’s birthday celebration, we raised about P7 million, P1.5 million of which was targeted for Guimaras. We decided to spend it in San Roque, a very special place with 51 islands, pristine clear waters and a sand bar in the middle of the sea. It is quite awesome. We decided to spend the money on infrastructure that would generate revenues for the community there: P400,000 on a fishing vessel and a floater; P140,000 on a floating cottage, which we would put in the sand bar; and P120,000 on a flatboat. The rest of the money would go to gear and furniture, including culinary equipment that would make the infrastructure operational. Because San Roque is so beautiful my determination is to get the area significantly out of poverty just to show the possibilities in a beautiful place.
When we inaugurated the fishing boat, I was surprised to see several big palanggana (basin) of fish and was told it was P120 for the whole palanggana. And then I was further told that sometimes they sell it for P60 because there are so many fish! And they don’t know who will buy it. It reaffirmed my perception that what the poor lack is access to markets and to add value to what they sell.
Unless this basic hurdle is addressed, our poor will remain poor.
San Lorenzo, with its 27 gorgeous looking windmills and wind turbines, feels surreal. I was surprised to find out that the windmills generated 54 megawatts of energy and that Guimaras, in fact, only needed eight. In my simplistic mind I would have made it a policy that the first to benefit from any kind of energy generation is the immediate community. Anyway, they don’t need much.
I was brought to this organic farm with refreshingly pure-hearted farmers. I saw fresh and lush gardens of ampalaya and cucumber. What struck me most was the feel of the place. There was heartiness even in the breeze that caressed my cheeks. I thought, “What if we had al fresco dining here, from-farm-to-table? Put hammocks and lounge chairs. Visitors would not only want to stay — they will most probably come back again and again.”
The highlight of the trip was the launch of the visitor center in San Roque. I enthusiastically commend the team spirit of Guimaras Governor Samuel Gumarin who is a wonderful public health doctor, and Nueva Valencia Mayor Emmanuel Galila. The initial budget for the information center was P733,000 and it has languished over the past five years.
From my non-engineering perspective I thought, why can’t everyone just work together? I have seen it happen elsewhere. The community comes in full force — materials are provided. That is exactly what happened. The road was fixed such that a 30-minute car ride could now be done in 10. A dump pile was turned into an attractive visitor center complete with landscaping; every day a community was assigned to work in the place. The women carried the bamboo, split it, cleaned it, while the men put together the visitor center hammering away.
This summer you must make a trip to Guimaras. Go to San Roque. We stayed in La Puerta Al Paraizo, which has a beautiful white sand beach. The price is quite reasonable. If you are interested contact G Eco Tours at tours@g-ecotoursph.com. G Eco Tours is an enterprise I set up under G Stuff, the purpose of which is to drive traffic to the islands.
Go to YouTube and search for “Gina Lopez visits Guimaras 2015.” It is my way of sharing the Guimaras experience.
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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.