The 35 th Annual Cultural Tour of Negros Occidental will be held December 1, 8 and 15 this year, a press release from event organizer and tour guide Ramon Hofileña said.

The itinerary of the tour which starts 9 a.m. and ends 5:30 p.m. includes the Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation in Bacolod City; Bernardino Jalandoni House, Hofileña Heritage House and its art collection and printmaking workshop, and trip to outstanding delicacy sources in Silay City; Church of St. Joseph the Worker – Victorias City; Chapel of the Cartwheels – Manapla town; and an introduction to a new tourist attraction.

To be explained to participants on board the bus are the San Sebastian Cathedral, Palacio Episcopal, Capitol building and park of Negros Occidental, and Kilometer 0 - Bacolod; Hda. Matab-ang monument and enchanted trees – Talisay City; ancestral houses, San Diego Church, Cinco de Noviembre marker, and cultural center – Silay; Heroes of Guintabuan monument – E.B. Magalona town; and iron dinosaurs and Victorias Milling Co. – Victorias, the press release said.

Also included in tour discussions are the Philippines' most internationally-known mural, first examples of Filipinism in liturgical art, works by Jose Rizal and the national artists, the country's first cultural center, world's smallest dolls, Negros island's oldest antique, and brief talks on pre-Magellanic Philippine architecture, conservation farming, and folk arts, among others.

Each tour is limited to 43 participants, on a first come-first served basis.

Registration is ongoing at the Jara Laboratory and Blood Bank at Lacson Street , Bacolod , and interested parties may call Tel. No. (034) 434-6398, for details, the press release added.*

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Boys, girls tourism
day slated in Silay

The Boys and Girls' Tourism Day will be held today in Silay, Negros Occidental, on the theme “Turismo at mga Kabataan”, a press release from the city said.

Girl tourism officer Lamiela Abellar said she will be conducting a guided tour for Grade III pupils of Gov. Emilio Gaston Memorial Elementary School.

Tour coordinators are Nilda Covacha, GEGMES principal; and Lyn Malacaman, class adviser.

The itinerary includes the Silay Domestic Airport , Balay Negrense Museum , Jalandoni House Museum and Silay City Hall , the press release said.

The tour will be participated in by some 50 boy and girl officials, and Silay Rotary Club members headed by Isidro Javier.

Young Silaynons should be proud of their city, because Silay is the seat of arts, culture and eco-tourism in Western Visayas , Mayor Jose Montelibano said in the press release.

Tourism officer Ver Pacete will talk on the tourist attractions in Silay, tour guiding and social ethics.

Silay education superintendent Fernando Po said that boy and girl officials should formulate strategies on how to promote the city as a tourist destination, the press release added.*

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Indigenous students get
P85 million in scholarships

More than 13,000 poor but deserving Filipino students of indigenous peoples will get cash assistance for school expenditures from the P85-million government budget for scholarships, a press release from the Philippine Information Agency said.

Secretary Domingo Panganiban of the National Anti-Poverty Commission said the Arroyo administration aims to provide P5,000 per semester will be given to each student, through the National Commission on Indigenous People's Educational Assistance Program next school year.

Panganiban said the government awarded cash assistance to 13,154 grantees from indigenous tribes through the NCIP-EAP last year, the press release said.

A report obtained from the NCIP Office on Education, Culture and Health indicates that most of the students who have received assistance through the program belong to Aeta, Agta, Ati, Dumagat, Mamanwa, Ifugao, Kankaney/Appali, Manobo, Bago, Bagobo, Kalinga, Subanen and Tinggguian communities, the press release added.*

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