Garcia's 'Suroy-Suroy' tourism drive impresses Lanao Norte gov

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu’s Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tourism campaign took center stage when Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia visited Lanao del Norte last week. 

Garcia visited the province last July 3 upon the invitation of Lanao del Norte Gov. Mohammad Khalid Dimaporo to attend the “People’s Day,” which was part of the 53rd Araw ng Lanao celebration. 

Dimaporo, who is on his second term and the seventh governor of the province, is hoping to pursue a sisterhood agreement between the two provinces, as he was impressed by Garcia’s initiatives, especially in tourism. 

According to Dimaporo, the province is mulling the creation of its own “Laag-Laag Lanao” patterned after Cebu’s successful tourism caravan, the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, that brings local and foreign tourists to the countryside.

Garcia shared how she first took a look at tourism in Cebu, noting that it had been pretty well-established and was getting its fair share of tourist arrivals, both international and local.

But what was missing was the impact of tourism, as it was felt only in the metropolitan areas but hardly felt in the countryside.

This prompted Garcia to convene the Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council and raised the idea of integrating travel and the province’s rich cultural heritage into a complete package, thus Suroy-Suroy Sugbo was conceived.

Garcia was also the guest of honor in Lanao del Norte’s first Maranao Night, a showcase of the rich and diverse culture of Muslims in Mindanao through cultural dances and songs depicting tribal life.

Dimaporo was thankful to Garcia for visiting Lanao del Norte and sharing the best practices of her province.

“Hope we can create a sisterhood agreement and we can learn from the experience of Cebu province and how to promote our municipalities,” Dimaporo said.

Lanao del Norte has been sending a contingent to Cebu every January to compete in the Sinulog Festival. 

According to Dimaporo, it brought pride for Garcia to visit his province, considering that there are many Cebuanos there, including his mother, Rep. Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo, who hails from Liloan, Cebu.

“There’s a little bit of personal happiness that Gov. Garcia is here in our province,” said Dimaporo, who also expressed full support for Garcia’s bid for a seat in the Senate.

“As far as Lanao del Norte is concerned, we will be fully behind the candidacy of Gov. Gwen Garcia,” Dimaporo said. “We need more voices (in the Senate who) are from our area (Visayas and Mindanao),” he added.

Kapatagan Mayor Benjie Baguio, who has relatives in Tuburan, Cebu, and Lala Mayor Allan Lim, whose wife hails from Dumanjug, also in Cebu, were also thankful that Garcia visited their towns and assured Garcia of their full support for her senatorial bid. – Freeman News Service