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WV Intramuros showcase: A long, enthralling journey
ROXAS CITY (29 June 2005) -- Entering Clamshell I and viewing the exhibits and cultural shows of Western Visayas during its tourism showcase at Intramuros, Manila from June 18-30, 2005 was like touring the richly colorful and alluring region.

All provinces of the region have occupied zones within the approximately 1,000-square meter area of the clamshell where they have put up booths that served as one-stop shops for things related to tourism.

The provincial booths had desks that provided interested visitors with information about socio-economic profile, tourist destinations, tour packages and local products. They also served as venues for product exhibits and selling and craft demonstration.

About one-half of the clamshell served as venue for the cultural show staged by each province during their respective special event dates: Aklan, June 18; Negros/Bacolod City, June19; Capiz, June 24; Iloilo-Guimaras, June 25; and Antique, June 26.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional Director Edwin G. Trompeta said the regional showcase from June 18-30, 2005 was dubbed “Kabugana-an Sang Western Visayas” designed to depict the abundance in the region of some of the best tourist attractions in the country as reflected in its rich arts, culture, history and even its natural products and crafts.

One needed not walk farther, albeit leisurely or in a shopping-like manner, than the other half of the clamshell area to see how deeply varied are the tourism treasures of the region.

Upon setting foot in the island of Panay, you would undoubtedly get captivated by the charm of Capiz which you only have come to know in history books as the birthplace of the late Manuel Acuña Roxas, first President of the Philippine Republic.

Soon to hold a new tourism-oriented event dubbed “Diwal Festival,” Capiz is the second settlement established by the Spaniards in the country after Cebu in the 16th century.

As a testimony to this rich Spanish heritage, the province has the largest church bell in Southeast Asia. It can be found at Panay Church of the Parish of Sta. Monica in Panay town.

It is reputed as the seafood capital of the Philippines for its bounty of seafood like crabs, shrimps, oysters, mussels, and the exotically delicious “diwal” or angelwings. Capiz is also famed as the “Garden Center of Panay Island” owing to its vast and variegated cutflower farms.

It has unspoiled black sand beaches, isolated coves, and caves. You will get to know more about Capiz by witnessing its annual Sinadya sa Halaran festival that usually lasts for a week and culminates in the Roxas City fiesta celebration on Dec. 8.

Capiz serves as a good entry point for neighboring Aklan which is unmistakably striking with images of the world-famous Ati-Atihan festival and Boracay Island dancing in your mind.

Take note of its caves, waterfalls and natural pools and you will harmonize the dance with a mesmerizing musical symphony made up of these natural wonders.

You will enjoy the province more if you decide to buy and try its local products such as piña cloth, sleeping mat made of pandan leaves, ampao, and other native delicacies.

A trip to the westernmost tip of Aklan to explore the marvels of its unspoiled caves could eventually lead you to venture farther and find yourself between the sea and the mountains of Antique.

While in Antique, you can savor its natural, fresh vegetables, fruits and seafood. Or as the DOT suggests, you can go trekking, boating, swimming, shell hunting, snorkeling, scuba diving, and fishing.

You can schedule your visit in the last week of April in time for the Binirayan, Antique’s premier festival.

While enjoying the mountain sceneries of Antique, you smell something sweet and you’d soon learn that it’s “bandi” (peanut candy), a delicacy of Iloilo.

But there’s more to Iloilo than this sweet delight – its rich treasures of historical and cultural attractions, stately Spanish-inspired mansions, majestic century-old churches, unspoiled countrysides and exotic delicacies such as batchoy and pancit molo.

It has antiques, handicrafts, art pieces and a wide array of other souvenir items to take home after a pleasant journey to the land of some of the finest jusi and piña embroidery. Its capital, Iloilo City, once enjoyed the fame of being the “Queen City of the South.”

Iloilo has the oldest golf course in the country and has cockfights on Sundays for aficionados of the game. It owns one of the region’s highly popular festivals – Dinagyang, which is held every January in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño or the Holy Child Jesus.

From the Panay mainland, the sweet mangoes of Guimaras beckon to anyone to take a 15-minute boat ride to the island province to see how they are able to produce such high-quality mangoes, as well as to enjoy its scenic beaches, caves, cashew and other fruit trees. The Our Lady of the Philippines Trappist Monastery in Jordan town is the only one of its kind in the country.

Aside from its natural wonders, Guimaras regularly hosts survival challenge games where you see speed, precision, gallantry and colors among participants of mountain biking, kayaking and rappelling in three days of exciting action.

Guimaras’ fame as “Mango Country” is colorfully depicted during its Manggahan Festival which is held every May 22nd to commemorate its provincehood. It was once a sub-province of Iloilo.

Negros Occidental could even be sweeter. Dubbed as “Sugarlandia” because of its premier product, which is sugar, the province is primarily known for its inland tourist attractions, historical sites, lifestyle museums, antiques and art collections, vintage steam locomotives used in the sugar industry, ancestral houses of sugar barons, industrial sites, mountain resorts, century-old churches, and contemporary artistic places of worship.

DOT recommends to nature-lovers its pleasurable mountains, waterfalls, caves, islets, coral beds, crystal clear sea waters, and stretches of white sand beaches. Also considered as a gourmet’s paradise, Negros Occidental takes pride in its local cuisine, pastries and delicacies (including piyaya) that never fail to please the discriminating visitor.

It is the province with the most number of cities (13 so far) in the country today. The “Masskara Festival” of Bacolod City, the provincial capital, depicts the many facets and faces of the Negrenses’ way of life in a festive celebration held every October.

During the journey inside the clamshell, you let the first letters of the names of the region’s provinces juggle in your mind and you’ll be amazed to find out how the letters will go together as in a jigsaw to form the following combinations: IN CA, GA (you’re in Western Visayas, a beautiful place), my dear); CAIN, GA (let’s eat batchoy; my dear); and GAIN CA (you gain a lot of nice things from your trip to the region).

Surely, an actual trip to Western Visayas after knowing about it at the Intramuros showcase would be a rewarding experience for those who love the best things in tourist destinations. GAIN CA. (PIA-JSC)

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