TABUK CITY, KALINGA — Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco emphasised the Division of Tourism’s efforts to encourage the merging of vacationer locations. She expressed full help for tourism improvement in Kalinga, highlighting its vital potential to generate jobs and livelihood alternatives for native communities.
Division of Tourism chief pushes for preservation of tradition, heritage in Kalinga Province
The assertion was given by the tourism chief throughout their attendance on the thirty first Bodong Competition, which is a part of the province’s founding anniversary celebration.
In her keynote tackle, Secretary Frasco emphasised the significance of “guided development,” making certain that tourism improvement advantages communities whereas safeguarding their tradition and surroundings.
“Accessibility should enhance. Expertise have to be additional strengthened, and infrastructure should help, not overwhelm, our communities. That is why the Division of Tourism totally helps our nationwide authorities packages to offer connectivity and accessibility to Kalinga Province in addition to to enhance connectivity to heritage villages and pure websites, and strengthen the capacities of tourism staff by means of the Filipino Model of Service Excellence,” she stated.
As of January 31, 2026, the DOT has educated 741 tourism staff by means of the FBSE and 212 within the Tourism Business Expertise Program (TISP). TISP consists of packages like Vacationer-Oriented Police for Group Order and Safety (TOPCOP), Group Tour Guiding, Tourism Consciousness, and Capability-Constructing Seminars.
The DOT has been supporting Pasil, a municipality in Kalinga, by means of its Gradual Meals initiatives. Chele Gonzalez, a Michelin-starred chef, sources heirloom rice from Pasil for his rice dishes after collaborating in gradual meals occasions in Turin, Italy, and Bacolod Metropolis, Negros Oriental. Pasil has additionally obtained the DOT’s Greatest Tourism Village award.
At present, vacationers can attain Kalinga by long-distance bus from Manila. For air journey, guests can fly the Manila-Tuguegarao route by way of Cagayan or the Manila-Cauayan route by way of Isabela, adopted by a brief land journey to the province. To reinforce vacationer comfort, native leaders have urged the DOT to arrange Vacationer Relaxation Areas within the cities of Balbalan, Rizal, Tinglayan, and the capital, Tabuk Metropolis.
Tabuk Metropolis has additionally received the celebrated ASEAN Clear Vacationer Metropolis Award twice in a row, below the ASEAN Tourism Requirements Awards. The tourism chief famous that in the course of the Marcos Administration, the DOT remained dedicated to selling tourism that conserves heritage, empowers communities, and generates tangible financial advantages for native individuals.
Secretary Frasco personally noticed how Kalinga’s individuals uphold their tradition in the course of the Bodong Competition, the place she served because the visitor of honor. Subtribes from varied municipalities collect to current cultural performances that spotlight their traditions, together with “Salip,” or matrimonial rites, and “Gabbok,” or first-born dedication ceremonies, that includes ancestral songs, dances, and rituals rooted within the province’s wealthy cultural heritage.
In the course of the Grand Cultural Finale, she participated in a unity dance with native officers, serving as a heartfelt tribute to Kalinga’s id, resilience, and hope for the long run.
Defending heritage whereas having fun with tourism
Kalinga Governor James Edduba states that their communities acknowledge the importance of tradition as a key a part of their id.
“Our traditions should not diminish. As a substitute, they have to evolve with dignity, be preserved with satisfaction, and be handed on with a goal to the following era. Progress ought to by no means imply forgetting who we’re. True improvement occurs when development is uncovered in id,” stated Governor Edduba.
The Secretary’s message was additionally bolstered by Rep. Caroline Agyao of the Lone District of Kalinga, who emphasised in the course of the opening ceremony that tourism ought to be performed correctly.
“Secretary, your presence right here at present is a recognition that Kalinga has one thing the world is looking for authenticity. In an period of mass tourism and homogenized experiences, vacationers now not need only a seaside and a buffet. They need a narrative. They need a soul. They need to stand on the rice terraces cared for by ancestors, hear the echo of the mantra of our elders, and meet the lady whose plant has saved an artwork alive for many years, siya po si Apo Whang Od. Now we have all of this, however we even have a accountability. Now we have to inform our story on our personal phrases,” she stated.
“Tourism, if carried out carelessly, can turn out to be a predator dressed as a present. It will possibly cut back our sacred rituals to scheduled performances. It will possibly flip our elders into images,” the congresswoman stated.
In keeping with statistics, home tourism accounts for a major share of Kalinga Province’s tourism business. In 2025, the DOT-Cordillera Administrative Area (CAR) recorded 331,447 same-day guests to the province, of whom 329,856 had been native vacationers.
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