BIÑAN CITY, Laguna – The city government's tourism program was named one of the Ten Outstanding Local Governance Programs in the 2022 Galing Pook Awardees on Tuesday, Nov. 22.
The local government unit's (LGU) winning program is Balik-Biñan Project: Tourism Development through Heritage Conservation.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. awarded the plaque to Mayor Arman Dimaguila, Vice Mayor Gel Alonte, and Biñan City Culture, History, Arts and Tourism Office (BCHATO) Head Bryan Jayson Borja in a ceremony held in Malacañang.
In his speech, Marcos commended the LGUs' efforts to innovate, thereby empowering the economy amid current global conditions.
"We are reinventing the global economy. It will reinvent itself, we have to reinvent ourselves to be able to adjust. And that's where innovation comes in," Marcos said during the ceremony streamed live through Radio Television Malacañang's Facebook page.
Also included in this year's 10 awardees were the initiatives of Libertad Antique; Provincial Government of Basilan; Iloilo City; Itbayat, Batanes; Provincial Government of Bataan; Brgy. Cayabu of Tanay, Rizal; Alcala, Cagayan; Goa, Camarines Sur; and Piddig, Ilocos Norte.
The Galing Pook Foundation is an institution that offers support, tools, and resources to LGUs, enabling them to build adaptive solutions to challenges in their respective communities. This year, the foundation received 196 applications from LGUs across the country.
Pride in heritage-driven development
During the final presentation for Galing Pook Awards at MAAX Auditorium, Pasay City on Nov. 21, Mayor Dimaguila emphasized that Biñan is a city of pleasant contradictions, where the past co-exists with the present while jointly shaping the future.
According to the chief executive, Balik-Biñan builds a solid identity for the community, empowering them to be proud of their local heritage and foster patriotism.
"I think 'yan 'yung isa sa pagkakakilanlan ng Biñan (that is one of Biñan's distinct traits) for the past years ', 'yung culture-based governance. The award is important for Biñan because it validates the hard work of the city government, the stakeholders, the heritage advocates," Borja told the Manila Bulletin on Nov. 23.
Launched in 2016, Balik-Biñan is comprised of seven major programs, including the conversion of the old municipal building into Sentrong Pangkultura ng Biñan, the revival of the Biñan Heritage District, and the restoration of the Historic Alberto Mansion – the ancestral home of Dr. Jose Rizal's mother, Teodora Alonso.
"We hope that Balik-Biñan would open doors for other LGUs to shift to culture-based governance," Borja said.
"Gamitin nila yung kultura nila, kasaysayan nila, yung sining nila, yung heritage nila para mas paunlarin yung bayan nila. That's the way para mahanap natin ang pagka-Pilipino natin (They should use their culture, history, art, and heritage to make their community more progressive. That is the way for us to find who are we are as Filipinos)."
