Author: pixelseepangadmin

Preliminary configuration and rolling-out the Pangasinan’s Online Visitor Registration System (OVRS), now called Pangasinan Tara Na! was conducted by the Department of Tourism’s program developers, with select PTCAO and Management Information System Office (MISO), was held last Wednesday, February 3 via Google Meet.

The Pangasinan Tara Na! app will soon be launched as the province’s official digital contact tracing system for visitors entering the province, as stipulated on Pangasinan’s Provincial Ordinance No. 254-2020 or the ordinance Prescribing the Guidelines for the Reopening of Tourism in Pangasinan Amid COVID-19.

/MCDG & /MNL

Chef Ruben Ignacio, together with Chef Kenneth Arrieta, both from Lingayen, Pangasinan, bags the 2nd place in the Ilocano Culinary Heritage Competition and Exhibit held last February 2, at the Paoay Church Complex, Ilocos Norte.

The event is one of the component activities of the 203rd Founding Anniversary of the Province of Ilocos Norte. It is the first “Ridge and Reef” culinary competition that aimed to promote culinary tourism and at the same time showcase the traditional and local recipes in the region.

Chef Ruben and Chef Kenneth represented the Province of Pangasinan and showcased their own version of pinakbet called “Tinupig na Pianggang Bangus Belly with Pakbet Salsa”.

Congratulations to Chef Ruben Ignacio and company for showcasing the best of our culinary heritage in Pangasinan!

Photos by Ruben Ignacio Jr.

/MBRR

The Province of Pangasinan through the Pangasinan Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office joins the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Filipino Nation in celebrating National Arts Month 2021.

The month of February of every year is declared as National Arts Month (NAM) by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 683. The proclamation highlights “the disciplines of theatre, dance, music, visual arts, architecture, literature, media arts, and film need to be preserved, enriched, and evolved in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression”.

This year, NAM takes on the theme “Alab-sining, Alay-sigla” as the celebration continues to provide opportunities for harnessing artists’ creative energies in uplifting the nation’s spirit. Furthermore, the NAM 2021 celebration seeks to conserve, promote and popularize Filipino artistic creations; integrate the arts in the community life; and harness the arts as catalysts for values education.

/MBRR

Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Officer Maria Luisa Elduayan, along with select staff from the PTCAO Technical Support and Services Division, conducted a farm tourism site visit and inspection in three LGUs last January 29.

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The PTCAO team visited the farmers at Angat Buhay Center in Pozorrubio, a foundation that dedicatedly contributes in addressing the lack of means for quality education and to give hope and empower underprivileged and impoverished youth especially amidst the new normal through their farming efforts, with gardening a fundamental activity. The PTCAO team also visited the Asingan Agri-Tourism Park which is a 20-hectare family farm tended to share with visitors looking to bask in the beauty and serenity of nature that could only be experienced at a farm. The last farm to be visited was the Tayug Eco-Park, known to be the site of the first ever sunflower maze in the Philippines. Since its opening four years ago, the Tayug Eco-Park has become a must-visit tourist destination in Pangasinan not only for its iconic maze of sunflowers, but for the splash of nature’s colors contributed by a variety of flowers and plants grown on the farm.

This farm tourism site visit is an initiative geared toward ensuring that Pangasinan’s various tourist destinations are equipped and prepared for the re-opening of tourism in the province.

/MCDG & /FENM

Due to Baguio City’s recent change in quarantine classification, from MGCQ to GCQ (February 1-15, 2021), Pangasinan will only accept tourists from Region 1 provinces that share the same MGCQ classification.

/MCDG

In preparation for the reopening of tourism in Pangasinan, Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Officer Maria Luisa Elduayan discussed the current development in the tourism industry to representatives from the Municipality of Agno last January 26, 2021.

The PTCAO Chief also gave a brief presentation of the Online Visitors Registration System (OVRS) that the Department of Region 1 prepared and consequently rolled out at the Provincial Training and Development Center II in Lingayen last January 21. The management of the OVRS is integral in the safe reopening of tourism in the province and requires close coordination with the PNP, LGUs and tour operators and travel agencies.

/MCDG

In line with the implementation of the Provincial Ordinance No. 254-2020 otherwise known as the “Ordinance Prescribing Specific Guidelines for the Reopening of Tourism in the Province of Pangasinan Amid Covid-19 Pandemic”, the Provincial Government of Pangasinan, through its Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, launched its Online Visitors Registration System (OVRS) prepared by the Department of Tourism Region 1 last January 21 at the Provincial Training and Development Center II in Lingayen, Pangasinan. The launch consisted of an orientation-workshop for tourism stakeholders who will assist in effectively managing the OVRS.

Present were DOT-R1 Director Joseph Francisco “Jeff” Ortega, First District Provincial Board Member and Committee Chairman for Tourism, Culture and Arts Hon. Orange Humilde-Versoza, PTCAO Chief Maria Luisa Elduayan, Provincial Director of the Pangasinan PPO P.Col. Ronald Gayo and other representatives from the PNP, tourism officers from select LGUs with open tourist destinations, and tour operators and travel agencies.

Topics discussed during the meeting were border control management, travel requirements for different travel classifications and suggestions and comments to further improve the OVRS for all managing parties, to name a few.

/MCDG

In observance of the 76th Lingayen Gulf Landings Anniversary and the 14th Pangasinan Veterans Day, the Provincial Government of Pangasinan paid tribute to the World War II heroes in a solemn celebration held at the Veterans Memorial Park last January 9.

The ceremony was led by Governor Amado I. Espino III, accompanied by PNP Pangasinan Acting Provincial Director Col. Ronald V. Gayo, Brigade Commander 702, Defender Brigade of the Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Audrey L. Pasia, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Provincial Head Sheryl D. Simeon, and representatives from the Sons and Daughters Association Inc. Luis Santiago B. Samson III and Charmaine T. Loresco.

“Nagpapasalamat kami sa pangunguna ni Governor Espino na talagang ginugunita natin ang kabayanihan ng ating mga naunang bayani,” Brig. Gen. Pasia said, commending the Provincial Government led by Governor Espino for its commitment in honoring the sacrifices and heroism of Pangasinenses 76 years ago.

To prevent the transmission and spread of the COVID-19, the ceremony was regulated and held privately to observe health protocols.

Pangasinan Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Officer Maria Luisa Amor-Elduayan shared that as of November 2020, there are 127 living veterans residing in 38 out of 48 cities and towns of Pangasinan. The oldest living Pangasinan veteran and a recognized guerilla solider, Pedro Carpio Torres, has reached the age of 106 and resides in Burgos while the oldest female veteran, Victorina Garcia Urmaza from Binmaley, is currently 98 years old.

Pangasinan’s World War II veterans receive a monthly pension of P21, 700 which staff from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) directly distributes to their respective homes to personally thank them for their sacrifices for the province of Pangasinan.

/MCDG

For a safe and convenient travel experience for tourists visiting Pangasinan, a close and strong cooperation among tour operators and tour guides are essential.

Officers of the Pangasinan Tour Guides Association (PTGA) and the Pangasinan Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Association (PTOTAA) met last January 8 at the Capitol Resort Hotel in Lingayen, Pangasinan to discuss the interconnected businesses shared by their groups and how to implement and conduct safe tourism practices amidst the new normal.

Topics discussed included the proposed subsidization of special RT-PCR tests for tourism frontliners, tour management protocols and communication channels between tour guides and tour operators and rates for the services of tour guides, to name a few.

/MCDG

The National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), together with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ National Committee on Art Galleries, and the National Museum of the Philippines, spearheaded the Quincentennial Art Competition. This is in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Philippines’ participation in the first circumnavigation of the world, the Victory at Mactan and other related events collectively known as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (2021 QCP).

The Pangasinan Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) provided assistance to the five (5) participating Pangasinan artists in the form of document preparation and transportation of their respective artworks to Dal-luyon Café Gallery, Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union, one of the NQC’s designated drop-off points in Northern Luzon.

The Pangasinan artists who joined the said competition are Mr. Jeffrey “DOMENG” De La Cruz of Bugallon, Albert Sison of Lingayen, Ronaldo Ponciano of San Carlos City, and Daril Nobleza and Wenny Licuanan, both from Bolinao.

Winners of said art competition will be announced on February 26, 2021.

/MBRR

The Provincial Government of Pangasinan, through its Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, designed and conducted the Community Guiding Webinar last November 25 to December 12, 2020 to provide aspiring tour guides with the basic knowledge, skills and attitude needed for a professional tour guide that will enable them to provide efficient, quality, satisfactory, as well as safe tour guiding services for visitors in the new normal setting. This was an initiative in partnership with Alaminos City and Bolinao and sponsored by the Department of Tourism Region 1.

Displaced tourism workers from LGUs that have priority destinations, community-based/people’s organizations, employees of DOT-accredited accommodation establishments, travel and tour agencies, and re-opened priority destinations participated in the training. Some topics discussed in the webinar were The Corona Virus and the Tourism Industry, The Pangasinan Tourism Situation and COVID-19 Advisories Relating to the Re-opening of Tourism, Local Tourism Situation Tourist Destinations and Activities, and All About Pangasinan Local History, People and Events while add-on lectures focused on Pangasinan Tourism Products, Eco-tourism, First Aid and Basic Life Support, and Tourist Safety and Security. Online quizzes were conducted via Google Forms while individual assignments were recorded on video and submitted to the PTCAO project staff for review and grading.

The highlight activity of the training was a mock tour held in identified destinations in Bolinao (December 4-5) and at the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City (December 7-8). A total of 44 participants graduated from this project.

/MCDG

Representatives from the Pangasinan Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Association (PTOAA), along with staff from the PTCAO Tourism Services and Promotions Division (TSPD), conducted an ocular visit in tourist destinations and accommodation establishments in Alaminos City, Bolinao and Dasol for the development of tour packages along western Pangasinan.

The development of tour packages is a standard imperative in the practice of safe and responsible travelling especially amidst the new normal. Tour packages also showcase the individual charm of each tourist destination as well as accommodation establishments nearby.

The current open tourist destinations in Alaminos City are the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP), Bued Mangrove Forest Park, MVC Technodemo Farm & E-Kawayan Factory, Bolo 1 – Telbang Beach; in Bolinao are Patar Beach, Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, Bolinao Spring, Balingasay River, Enchanted Cave, and St. James the Great Church; and Tambobong Beach, Macalang Beach and Osmeña Beach in Dasol.

/MCDG