An entry of the municipality of Loboc dubbed as “Realizing Dreams Through Tourism Development” has earned for the town the Galing Pook award during an awarding ceremony held in Manila last week. The feat was another feather to the cap of Mayor Leon Calipusan who steered the municipality into a major tourism player by tapping the many attractive potentials of the town. The Galing Pook award is a pioneering program that recognizes innovation and excellence in local governance. The Galing Pook winners are chosen each year from a wide array of programs from local governments after undergoing a rigorous multi-level screening process. The winning programs are selected based on positive results and impacts, promotion of people’s participation and empowerment, innovation, transferability and sustainability, efficiency of program service delivery. As a winner, Loboc’s tourism program was chosen from 23 validated sites. The town emerged from a pool of 16 finalists in as many programs.

A total of 160 entries—from the provincial, municipal, barangay levels, were submitted for evaluation.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas conferred the awards to the winners.

Meanwhile, special envoy to China Carlos Chan during a recent visit in Loboc together with five other foreign ambassadors announced that as major benefactor of the town, he was giving the go-signal to fund the Loboc River Eco Falls Project which is an ecologically hazard free development by using non-electric ram pump water supply system; pico hydro to energize outdoor LED ambient lighting and the eco-composite; and outdoor recycled wood composite planks as decking.