By Anthony A. Araos
It is simply too hard to understand why a lot of people are only visiting Mayoyao during the Lenong Festival.
The two-day festivity in early August just ended with the conduct of various activities in this scenic town of the second district of Ifugao.
To my mind, it doesn’t make any sense at all for Mayoyao to draw tourists for only two days in a year. It should be visited instead by local and foreign tourists throughout the year.
Provincial government officials and personnel attended the festival for a couple of hours and left altogether immediately after the main program. They and many others should have stayed a few more days to fully understand and appreciate why Mayoyao earned the distinction of being called the “Hidden Shangrila of Ifugao.”
Give yourself and your loved ones an unforgettable holiday this Christmas season by giving them a trip to Mayoyao. They will have lots of fun and adventure in this town just adjacent to Banaue and next to Aguinaldo.
Apart from its famed rice terraces, I’m recommending great destinations such as the Mahencha Falls and Lumagig Stone. It is time to head to these sites and they would be excellent choices this coming Yuletide season.
There are five easy steps to enjoy your vacation in Mayoyao this year, in 2018 and beyond. Step 1: Bring your cellphone. Step 2: Bring your camera. Step 3: Bring your laptop. Step 4: Get a map of Mayoyao. Step 5: Interact with the people. Friendships are important in a distant place. Aside from that, relations with the people (in the public and private sector) are essential.
Grab every opportunity to learn something new in Mayoyao. While there in Mayoyao, get full comfort at budget prices by staying at Mayoyao Hostel. Of course, another option is to simply stay at the house of a relative or friend. Friendly advice: make your travel budget go further and get better value for your hard-earned money!
Mayoyao is accessible by land transportation from Metro Manila, Baguio City, Santiago City (in Isabela), Solano (in Nueva Vizcaya) and Lagawe (in Ifugao). At Lagawe, there is a non-air conditioned bus bound for Mayoyao. Travel time is about three hours and a half. Fare is Php 140.
I strongly recommend Mayoyao for first-time and even second- or third-time visitors simply because the town is nothing like ordinary for one to keep coming back since the senses are revitalized here.
There’s no place like the Swiss Alps but great times and fun can still be experienced anywhere- from rice terraces to waterfalls in Mayoyao.
That, at least, is one very good reason why an extended vacation is called for in Mayoyao. Get aboard and feel it! Not just during the Lenong Festival.
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All these point to an auspicious year 2018 for the residents of Mayoyao, most especially after the highly-successful staging of the Lenong Festival this year.
Congratulations to Mayor Ronie Lumayna, Vice Mayor Jimmy Padchanan Jr., councilors, barangay council officials and organizers of the festival for a job well done.
Many were indeed impressed with the preparations undertaken by the municipal government to ensure the festivity’s success.
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Mayoyao is also expected to benefit from an invigorated tourism industry. Expect these benefits to be reflected in the municipal government revenues due to increased tourist arrivals.
For now, it is a matter of tapping the town’s cultural and educational institutions and sites to boost the tourism industry.
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Ifugao is known not only as a land of majestic rice terraces, but as a province with one of the richest biodiversity in the region. Not anymore. Indiscriminate cutting of trees is threatening the province’s forests. Kaingin, even if illegal, is widely practiced and even condoned. Ridiculous, indeed! I’ve seen countless stumps of freshly cut matured Benguet pine trees intentionally cut in the province. This view may also serve as a reminder that many in the provincial government as well as 11 municipal governments are sleeping on their job of safeguarding the environment.
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It’s all systems go for the Kapatid Mentor Me Program, under the Go Negosyo Program, in Ifugao with 25 small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) owners. Congratulations to DTI-Ifugao Director Valentin Baguidudol, DTI-Ifugao office personnel, mentees and mentors for contributing significantly to the program’s success.
Relatedly, may I express some thoughts on this issue. The just-concluded Go Negosyo Seminar in Lagawe surely launched this great spin-off activity.
So when the press conference was held at Gazebo Restaurant, I’m wondering why the 25 or so SMEs owners/mentees were conspicuously not around to answer queries from the media.
We know that in the first two years of business operations, startups are still practically at the losing end. Yet, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is looking closely over their shoulders. While big-time tax cheats with government connections are having their heydays with their wealth.
While startups are having a hard time paying all sorts of fees and taxes just to open their businesses, they had to even contend with paying fees for business permit plates emblazoned with the photograph of the mayor.
Here’s the catch: In the 2013 polls, incumbent mayoralty candidate A beats candidate B. Three years after, re-electionist mayor loses to candidate B. It is utterly incomprehensible for the new mayor to see the face of his rival on the business permit plate when he is already at the helm. So a new plate is sought for, at whose expense?
Aforementioned considered, the following courses of action are hereby recommended:
At the next press conference of the Go Negosyo Seminar, the DTI-Ifugao office should present the mentees and mentors to media practitioners.
Initiate tax reforms for the benefit of cash-strapped SMEs owners. Startups will be exempt from paying their taxes in the first two years of operation.
There is a need to depoliticize the issuance of business permit plates by disallowing the posting of photographs of mayors on the same.
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A high level of appreciation for business ventures should be pursued. Best productivity improvement work practices of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should be fittingly recognized and rewarded.
To make a mark in the business sector, the MSMEs need access to credit. This is why the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) is so important. But many are not even aware of its purpose much more of its existence.
The CSF is clearly providing a solid boost to the Philippine economy. Thus, the DTI-Ifugao office should systematically involve those in the private sector who are familiar with it to make the Go Negosyo Seminar program in Ifugao succeed as a major tool for inclusive growth.
The CSF is a credit guarantee program that enables MSMEs and cooperatives to get loans from banks without providing collateral. To my mind, it is a good financial instrument that would enable MSMEs to achieve their financial goals.
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For our food delights corner: let’s start with merienda or snack time by having the Ilocos “empanada.” There are two varieties- Batac and Laoag. Both are great items for snack time.
By dinner time, an excellent meal is Batangas bulalo soup with rice. One may also add an omelet and fried tilapia fish.
For appetizers, serve ensalada (of eggplant minced with onions, vinegar, garlic and sugar) and chilled pineapple juice. Add bananas and chocolate cake. Now you call this an all-Filipino meal. Perfect, with a heart-felt prayer for such a blessing to the family and loved ones.
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At Guiltless Thoughts column, we care for your health by providing readers pertinent information on vegetables, fruits and vitamins for good nutrition. Nutrition Month should not only be celebrated in July. Make it a year-round activity.
For starters, let’s have singkamas or jicama. It is a sweet-tasting vegetable used in salads and lumpia.
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Finally, some thoughts for our readers: “Strength can only be built on character.” A quote from the late President Manuel L. Quezon
“There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promises and in this righteousness is to dwell.” 2 Peter 3:15**
