Thursday, January 9, 2014

Subangan Museum of DavOr eyed to lead in changing Mindanao's image

CITY OF MATI, Davao Oriental, Jan. 9 <PIA>-- Tourism Asst. Sec. Arturo Boncato yesterday saw the Subangan Davao Oriental Provincial Museum to take the forefront of the campaign to change the image of Mindanao.

Gracing the grand opening of the provincial museum, Boncato made such projection as he revealed plans of the the Department of Tourism (DOT) to make use of the 90 museums of Mindanao to tap the optimum benefit of enticing visitors.

With the opening of  the Subangan Provincial Museum as the 91st museum in MIndanao , DOT had plans to create a  network of museums which would be opened for guests "to see the real Mindanao."
"Let us not let the news  to create the image of Mindanao," he said.

Subangan is a Cebuano term meaning East or where the sun rises.

Boncato also conveyed support of DOT for Davao Oriental declared as a tourism area and its intention to develop it as a third generation tourist destination with no rooms for sins and mistakes of the past."
"It will be a perfect tourism in this part of the country,"" he said.

Boncato had seen a kind of relationship of museums with tourism, citing them as places for “convergence where people  from all walks of life come together, where people appreciate culture and heritage."

He also cited museums as zones of peace where people experience meeting of minds “to discuss history in a friendly manner.”

Taking the Subangan Museum as a particular instance, Boncato cited museums as “saviour” for its effort to preserve lives in nature.

"If not for the concept of the museum, the sperm whale could have drifted away,” died and be forgotten without meaning, he said.

Boncato was referring to the 50-foot sperm whale which drifted along the coast of Governor Generoso sometime in 2011.

It's bones reconstructed it now becomes a major display of Subangan Davao Oriental Provincial Museum which also features  cultural heritage, tourism destinations,  agricultural production, natural resources, economic development and Typhoon Pablo experiences of Davao Oriental.

He appreciated not only the content and the concept  of the museum but the efforts that the  provincial government had exerted to put up the museum and to realize dreams of having a repository of artifacts  and a place of  preserving of cultural heritage.

"We have not seen  any provincial  government that puts its heart into this program. From a seed (of idea) in 2008,  we are now seeing the edifice and content," he said
Citing the Subangan Museum as complete in its construction and content, Provincial Gov. Corazon Malanyaon estimated the museum to be worth about P25 million.

Aside from coming up with the museum concept,  the provincial government made the initial construction phase  and shelled out a local share of about P8 million, Gov. Malanyaon said.

The  Tourism Infrastructure  and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA)  extended  P10 million while the congressional  offices of Davao Oriental also contributed funds for the edifice construction and completion of exhibits.

Gov. Malanyaon described the museum to portray in  “colorful display  a collection of  treasured relics,  photos,  videos,  interactive visuals, documents, fabrics and other products.” 

“Proofs and testament of the province’s culture and history.    It allows  one to  experience  the breath-taking beauty of its  natural wonders - the glorious cascading waters of  Aliwagwag falls,  the  amazing pygmy forest and biodiversity sanctuary  of Mount Hamiguitan Range, varied crystal waterfalls,  pristine white sand beaches,  verdant green islands,  mysterious caves,  and, tranquil  rivers and lakes,” she said before formally opening the museum at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 8).    (PIA XI /Jeanevive D. Abangan)

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