Sarangani Bay fest still Mindanao’s top beach event

GENERAL SANTOS CITY--The famed Sarangani Bay (SarBay) Festival retained its standing as among the biggest festivities of its kind in Mindanao after surpassing anew the 100,000-mark for visitors in its 2018 edition.

Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists crowded various events and activities at festival venues in the white sand beaches of Glan town during the three-day festival, which ended on Saturday night.

“This is officially the number one beach event in the entire Mindanao,” said Department of Tourism (DOT) assistant secretary Daniel Angelo Mercado.

Mercado, who hails from Zamboanga del Sur, said SarBay fest is so far the biggest among the beach festivals he has attended in Mindanao. He specifically cited the more than 100,000 crowd in attendance he “personally witnessed” during the grand culmination night.

The SarBay crowd peaked at around 150,000 in 2016 after reaching 126,000 during its 10th year in 2015.

Mercado lauded organizers for making the 2018 SarBay as a platform to generate awareness and support for the rehabilitation of conflict-torn Marawi City.

The festivities started with a run-for-a-cause dubbed “I Run coz I Care” and followed by a “party for a cause,” with proceeds going to the rebuilding efforts in Marawi.

Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon earlier said they drew inspiration from what happened to Marawi in making the 2018 SarBay a grander and bigger festival.

The provincial government cancelled last year’s festivity a day before its scheduled opening due to the escalation of conflict in Marawi and the declaration of martial law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in the entire Mindanao.

Rica Bueno, DOT Region 12 director, credited the local government for lining up events and activities that became consistent hits for festival-goers.

Despite the arrival of thousands of visitors, she said organizers were able to maintain the cleanliness of the festival venues, especially the beaches of Gumasa.

Because of this, Bueno said the “fine white powdery beaches” of Gumasa deserves to be the next top destination after the temporary closure of Boracay.

The provincial government launched SarBay in 2006 to promote awareness on the protection and preservation of Sarangani Bay, which was declared a protected seascape in 1996 through Presidential Decree 756.

As in the previous festivities, festival goers gathered Sunday morning hours after the culmination night for a massive cleanup activity of the beaches of Gumasa and portions of the Sarangani Bay.

The “eco-party clean-up drive” was led by the so-called “scubasureros,” who made sure that no trashes would be left behind in the seas off Gumasa. (PNA)