Biay Festival: Of earth and life

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Joining the annual worldwide celebration of Earth Day, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recently launched its own celebration called "Biay Festival: A Celebration of Life," a three-day festivity featuring events and competitions focused on environmental protection and appreciation.

Biay, an Ayta word meaning life, is a celebration of the life-giving attributes of the natural environment in the Subic Bay Freeport, which is envisioned to become a major annual festival that will attract more tourists to Subic Bay.

"We plan to make the Biay Festival an annual and distinctly-Subic Bay celebration in honor of Mother Nature," said SBMA Administrator Armand C. Arreza.

A project of the SBMA Ecology Center, the festival is aimed at boosting public awareness on the importance of environmental protection and preservation, while promoting Subic Bay as among the best eco-tourism destinations in the country.

"This is what makes Subic Bay very unique from other tourist destinations in the country. Here, we work hard to make it a viable place for various industries including the tourism industry to create more jobs and generate income for the government, of course, without compromising the environment," Ecology Center manager Amethya Dela Llana-Koval said.