LUBAO – Candidates vying for the 2016 Mutya ning Kapampangan took a break to appreciate nature’s beauty in a river cruise via Pampanga River taking off from the Bamboo Hub here to Bangkung Mapalad in Sasmuan town Tuesday morning.
The Kapampangan beauties also visited Lubao’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF), provincial awardee as Best Practice on Ecological Solid Waste Management 2016.
The wetland cruise coincided with the bamboo hub’s blessing and presentation led by Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab. Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda graced the event together with the provincial officials, Sasmuan Mayor Nardo Velasco, Macabebe Mayor Annette Flores-Balgan, and Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Ricky Alegre.
The Lubao Bamboo Hub is a project of the municipal government led by Mayor Pineda. It is a Material Recovery Facility Center turned into an eco-tourist spot where they nurse and utilize bamboos and recycles waste materials into useful products. Tourists can also enjoy nature-tripping, biking, relax with massage service and fish spa, or go fishing.
It is situated beside the Pampanga River and is connected to Bangkung Mapalad in Sasmuan.
The Bangkung Mapalad is a mangrove islet formerly known as Pulung Malapad formed by volcanic sediments which flew and deposited through Pasak River during the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991. It is currently endorsed as a bird-watching sanctuary due to its conduciveness for birds to breed.
DOT Asst. Secretary Alegre sees the Bamboo Hub-Bangkung Mapalad tour as a great opportunity to attract tourists.
“This is a perfect eco-tourism site. We all have seen what this place offers. The whole province should be proud of the place,” he said.
Alegre also said that this is also a way of helping the locals by giving them jobs.
“It is in sync with the Department of Tourism’s campaign of ‘inclusive tourism’ where everyone should benefit from the place,” he added.
PHILIP OCAMPO
