Cabugao being developed into Boracay of the North

CABUGAO – This tourist town of Ilocos Sur, popularly known as "Boracay of the North’’ due to its white sandy beaches, shallow shoreline, and crystal-clear water is now being developed to make as a major destination like its counterpart in Aklan.

A two-day seminar workshop for a sustainable tourism program for this town was held recently with Vice Governor DV Savellano and Mayor Dioceasar as main proponents.

One of the town’s well-developed resort is the Pu-os beach. Resthouses and picnic sheds are found within the area. More facilities like this are expected to mushroom along the beach under the town’s tourism program.

Other attractions of the Cabugao beach is the Salomague port, the mangrove plantation in Barangay Dardarat, and other unequaled scenic views.

Two years ago, during the incumbency of Savellano as governor, he invited Miss World candidates to spend a day here. The beauties were impressed by the clean and tranquil environment in the town. Their visit gave Cabugao a worldwide exposure and publicity.

But even way back during the early 1900s, this town had been widely known as the exit point of the first wave of "sakadas’’ who were recruited to work in a sugar plantation in Hawaii.

The Cabugao port was used by the invading Japanese soldiers as their headquarters during the last war.

The unveiling of the tourism program here came after Vigan City Mayor Eva Marie Medina launched the "Kaivigan’’ a group of respected families residing in Vigan and in Metro Manila and NGOs in the city which was behind the successful tourism industry development in the city.

Mrs. Medina is the wife of Vigan City Mayor Ferdinand Medina who also believe in the power of tourism to lift the level of living of the city folk and to increase the number of both international and domestic tourists visiting the Heritage City.

Among those who participated in the tourism seminar and workshop were Region 1 tourism director Martin Valera and Dr. Corazon Rodrigues, dean of the University of the Philippines-Asian Institute of Tourism.