Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant to be held in Aurora

BALER, Aurora , Philippines   –  Frenzied local government efforts to place this remote province in the country’s tourism map, which failed miserably in the past because of bad roads and lack of hotel rooms to accommodate guests, have finally paid off after organizers of the Mutya ng Pilipinas International have decided to hold the annual pageant in this horseshoe-shaped coastal valley located 230 kilometers from Manila.

Renee Salud, MPI managing director and chairperson of the national screening committee for the MP 2009 search, told The STAR that they decided to hold the 41st edition of the pageant in the province because it has so many things to offer.

“Aurora has the mountains, beaches, waterfalls, culture and history so we deem it best to hold this year’s pageant in the province,” he said. He added that the province, named after the late former First Lady Doña Aurora Aragon-Quezon, is on the treshhold of a tourism boom with the influx of foreign and domestic tourists.

Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo agreed that the selection of the province as host of the MPI has opened a floodgate of opportunities for its people.

She said she was appreciative that MPI organizers considered the province, being a tourism haven. “I’m glad that over the last three years, the pageant has been projecting the potentials of the host province. I would like to take you to a journey in Aurora so you will see that you did not make a mistake in choosing it as venue for the Mutya,” she said.

She said that aside from its tourist spots, the province is proud of the pristine quality of its environment and its forest cover, considered the densest throughout the country. 

Angara-Castillo, along with her elder brother, Sen. Edgardo Angara and House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara, have been the acknowledged poster boys and girl of Aurora tourism, inviting foreign and domestic tourists to the province.

In the past, their efforts have barely paid off due to lack of adequate infrastructure and hotel rooms to attract visitors. Angara-Castillo admitted that in a number of occasions, she had to turn down hundreds of visitors due to lack of available hotel rooms where they can spend the weekends.