SAGAY CITY’S BEWITCHING DELIGHTS
Named after a small, conical shell called sigay, Sagay City straddles the northern most reaches of Negros Occidental like an ice cream cone. “Sagay is unique because you can find something here in Sagay that you cannot find in other places,” stated Mayor Alfredo Marañon III who welcomed us. “For one, the Sagay Marine Reserve is one the biggest marine reserves in the Philippines and offers a wide biodiversity.”

Covering approximately 32,000 hectares, the marine reserve includes the islands of Molocaboc, Diut, Matabas and Suyac, as well as the reefs of Carbin, Macahulom and Panal. Within the reserve are more than 500 hectares of mangroves hosting giant fruit bats. To see how communities in Sagay have become integral parts of the city’s tourism development, we headed to the old Sagay port, climbed on a pump boat, and made our way to the mangrove island of Suyac.

In line with the city’s sustainable tourism development, the Suyac Island Mangrove Eco-Park is managed by members of the community who have lived on the island for generations. Originally fishermen who cared little for the sea and the environment, they now manage and protect the mangrove island.

Cristela Bacruya belongs to the Suyac Island Eco-Tourist Attendant Association and is responsible for welcoming tourists. Along with others in the association’s entertainment committee, she performs a song and dance presentation to welcome visitors and informs them of the rules and regulations that are being implemented on the island. “Garbage in, garbage out. Drinking liquor is not allowed, as well as wearing skimpy swimsuit and smoking inside the cottages. There is a designated smoking area,” she stressed.

A few years back, when super typhoon Yolanda struck the northern reaches of Negros Island, many in Suyac feared for their lives. Had it not been for the mangrove trees that protected the village from the storm surge and strong winds, many would have perished. Today, the people of Suyac happily tend to the trees as if these are cherished family members. Suyac Island is home to nine species of mangrove trees. Apart from serving as breeding ground for three-fourths of all tropical fishes, it is a habitat for many organisms, reptiles and birds.

At Suyac, tourists can enjoy paddling, swimming under a canopy of mangrove trees, laze inside cottages while enjoying the view, or walk the 500-meter boardwalk that takes the peripatetic through dense mangrove forests. Gourmands, on the other hand, may sample the delicacies that the island offers.

Jenalyn Burlan, a housewife and mother of two, now cooks for guests coming to the island. Today, she entered the cottage carrying a whole basket of assorted crabs — pitik-pitik, alimango and alimasag. She also prepared several dishes from bulao (short-bodied mackerel) such as tinola, grilled and the piquant kinilaw. “Everything is fresh because we catch the fish and the crabs just around the island. I cook everyday for guests who come to our island. This had given my family additional income,” she said.

In the evening, we headed to Talisay and checked into Nature’s Village Resort. Here, the rooms feature frescoes depicting the sceneries of Negros Occidental — sugarcane plantations, seascapes, and views of rolling mountains. As we sat down for dinner, I was informed that the salad greens have all been grown in the hotel’s vegetable garden.

Mansinares said, “The hotel practices vermicomposting to make the soil in its garden suitable for growing vegetables. It also re-purposes many of the materials it uses — such as the chandeliers made from used bottles. The owners and management of the hotel strictly adhere to the standards of green tourism.”

CALATRAVA'S FLAVORS AND  COLORS
We headed next to the town of Calatrava where Amirose Lavilla, the municipality’s tourism focal person, greeted us with a basket of warm, fragrant bread. “It is our native bread called salvaro,” she said smilingly. A bite of the bread reveals a slightly caramel-y taste. Apparently, apart from flour, salt and the famous Negros sugar, salvaro uses tuba as leavening agent. The fermented coconut juice leaves a layer of delightful sweetness to the bread. “It has become famous even outside Calatrava. Even visiting Calatravanons who now live abroad, OFWs and tourists, buy salvaro to take with them when they leave,” Lavilla added.

Unavailable commercially, the salvaro is made in the morning and is sold out by midday. Visitors who wish to take home the bread must place their order at least a day or two before they leave. Though some versions exist in neighboring towns and islands, Lavilla stresses that salvaro originated in Calatrava, the recipe of which has been passed down from one generation to the next. Nang Mayang, one of the more prominent salvaro makers who is now in her 70s, has learned the art of baking the sweet bread when she was just 9 years old from her mother and grandmother.

With appetites satiated, we headed to the seaside weaving community in Barangay Mahilo. We met Thelma “Timay” Canillo who used to belong to a village of fishermen. Although the villagers knew how to weave even then, fishing was their main livelihood. Timay, in her desire to support her family better, tried a weaving experiment using the thorny pandan leaves that grow abundantly year-round in the village.

“It all started with a small idea to create an additional livelihood for the community. Since pandan grows abundantly in our village and has long been used to weave mats, we thought of using it in creating other items,” she explained. Timay started with 10 weavers who wove mats and bags. She would sell the products in the market or roam the streets of the next town or city hoping to interest housewives to buy. Having earned the interest of foreign and local bulk buyers, she now employs about 100 weavers from the entire village. Children, some as young as 7 years old, help their parents in weaving to augment the family income.

THE MARVELS OF SIPALAY CITY
With 148 hectares of marine protected area, involving the community is a sound strategy to implement the Sipalay City’s tourism code.

“The operations of the 48 resorts coincide with the tourism development plan and tourism code. The fisher folks who at first resisted the programs saw that it is not just fishing that benefits from the marine protected areas, but also tourism,” says Rhia Carbajosa, tourism officer of Sipalay. Many of Sipalay’s fishermen have stopped fishing altogether and have started to offer tourism-related services such as island hopping and ferrying tourists to the different dive sites situated in the municipal waters.

Sipalay offers beaches of varied sand colors and textures. Sugar Beach is so-called because of the sugary texture of its brown sand, which is reminiscent of muscovado sugar. Punta Ballo, on the other hand, boasts of its fine white sand, while Campomanes Bay is lined by a coralline beach.

Those who wish to dive and witness the underwater life of Sipalay can choose from 42 dive sites. In Campomanes Bay, the remains of the SS Panay, which sank during World War II, lies underneath the deep waters and is now a sanctuary to schools of fish and coral growth. We also took a quick trip to Maasin Cave, a rocky limestone outcropping in the middle of the sea that hosts small fruit bats. It opens to a wide expanse of crystal-clear waters and blue skies.

On the shore of Campomanes Bay is a charming boutique hotel called Bugana (which means “prosperity”). Owned by Marc Kalitta and his wife Eva Rose, Bugana takes inspiration from Southeast Asian design elements with a modern twist. The couple took us to one of their villas perched on a slope. Its doors slide open to reveal a private dipping pool framed by trees overlooking the blue waters of Campomanes Bay. Going green, the Kalittas have installed solar panels and are about to replace all plastic implements in the hotel with biodegradable ones. Those possessed of an adventurous spirit can go diving, scuba diving, kayaking, paddle boarding, island hopping, or water biking. There is even a mountain trail at the back to which Marc will happily take guests, if he is not busy cooking or taking care of other guests’ needs.

At Punta Ballo Beach, the caretaker of Artistic Diving White Beach Resort treated us to lunch. Alvie Vecinal told us that Artistic is owned by Evalyn and Arthur Mueller from Switzerland who opened the dive shop and resort some 20 years ago. “It started with four rooms and a dive shop. He had a few guests from abroad who introduced the resort to others. Because of word of mouth, Artistic has grown and developed through the years,” tells Vecinal. Artistic now has 20 rooms for backpackers, deluxe rooms good for three persons, a villa for four, and superior for six persons.

Of course, protecting such a wide area is no job for the faint of heart. Edsel Toledo, a Bantay Dagat coordinator, knows this only too well. “Bantay Dagat is a task force formed by the local government of Sipalay to guard the municipal waters from illegal fishing. We are also tasked to protect the natural resources of the municipal waters of Sipalay, including its coral reefs, mangrove forests and sea grass beds,” Toledo said.

Although confrontations with those who break the municipal laws are inevitable, Toledo realizes that the good his job brings far outweigh the possible dangers. “The fishermen are happy because with the strict protection of the marine reserves, the big fish have returned to the municipal waters of Sipalay. In the past, many of them had to sail to as far as Palawan to be able to secure an abundant catch. Today, they are able to fish for tuna, sailfish and marlin within 20 kilometers off the shoreline.”

PEACE AND SERENITY AT DANJUGAN ISLAND
Before ferrying to Danjugan Island, we spent the night at Punta Bulata Resort and Spa, a romantic enclave nestled by forests and cradled by the gentle lapping of the sea. Our beach cabana, facing the white-sand beach, has a large bed strewn with bright yellowbells. The following day, we set off early for Danjugan Island, which is 3 kilometers off the shore of Bulata.

Danjugan is a marine reserve and wildlife sanctuary for a wide variety of marine and terrestrial life. It is home to over 500 species of fish and over 200 species of hard and soft corals. It also nurtures giant clams and gets seasonal visitors like reef sharks, rays, sea turtles, dolphins, and on occasion, a migrating whale shark. On land, visitors might go bird watching and marvel at any of the 72 species of birds that either pass through or call Danjugan their home. If one is lucky, he may get a glimpse of the elusive Stork-Billed Kingfisher, or a migrating Black-Crested Tern.

Those feeling a bit indolent may swim on the beach or stroll leisurely through the mangrove walk, get a massage, or sleep in the comforts of the Eco-Cabana, fanned by breeze coming in from the sea amid the call of birds.