Half of participants back out: Suroy-Suroy Sugbo kicks off

CEBU, Philippines - Exploring heritage and eco-tourism sites in Cebu province, the three-day Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, the first for this year, has officially kicked off.

However, only half of the 200 participants joined the caravan yesterday after the other half canceled their reservations a week before the activity.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, who sits as chairperson of the Provincial Tourism Council, said the caravan has to push through despite the backing out of the large number of participants, mostly coming from Cebu City.

She said some had problems with their schedules or have been busy preparing for the major activities held in Cebu City, such as the Sinulog and the 51st International Eucharistic Congress.

“Wa ta’y mahimo… It has something to do with schedules tungod nag-abot ang mga event diri sa Cebu,” she told reporters.

She, however, said those who canceled their reservations for the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo still have to pay for the expenses that have already been constituted, such as booking fees for the resorts where they were supposed to be billeted.

Package rates for the ca-ravan range from P7, 000 to P14, 000, covering the transportation, accommodation, and full board meals.

The three-day southern trail concludes tomorrow.

Participants explored four of the 12 destinations of the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo during the first day. They left the Capitol compound at 7 a.m. yesterday and tra-veled to Carcar City where they had their breakfast.

The caravan then proceeded to the town of Bari-li, located in the south western part of Cebu province and known for its sought-after two-level Mantayupan Falls (also called by the locals as ‘Ambakan’).

The first level of Man-tayupan Falls measures 321.5 feet or 98 meters in height while the second one is 45.9 feet or 14 meters.

The participants also visited the heritage parks in Alegria and Moalboal.

The annual Suroy-Suroy Sugbo aims to promote and develop eco-tourism areas in the province. 

Today, the participants will be visiting the five-tier Aguinid Falls in Samboan town and Oslob, which is known for its whale shark watching.

Suroy-Suroy was first launched in 2005 by the Balik Cebu Group as part of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Cebu Business Month celebration and as way of promoting the growing tourism industry of Cebu.

The province adopted the program during the time of former governor, now third district Representative Gwendolyn Garcia.

The program was institutionalized by the present administration through an ordinance authored by Provincial Board Member Arleigh Jay Sitoy.  — (FREEMAN)