53. TPB @ GENSAN SOX

TPB @ GENSAN SOX

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

06 December 2017

One of the seminar-workshop new to me was the Tourism Marketing Seminar on Regional Branding spearheaded by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines and the Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT) of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman held at East Asia Royale Hotel in General Santos City in Region XII or SOCCSKSARGEN. Dr. Edieser D. Dela Santa, Dean of the UP Asian Institute of Tourism and project leader of the seminar welcomed the participants coming from four regions of northern Philippines; Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and the Cordillera Autonomous Region. As a prelude, the Philippine Development Plan, National Tourism Development Plan and the Filipino Brand of Hospitality were discussed. Four sessions were conducted on tourism marketing, developing a unique brand image, use of traditional and digital media and implementing and assessing the tourism brand. Workshops include the crafting of the regional situational analysis, identifying the unique selling proposition and creative branding strategy, media plan preparation and strategic activities and timeline. The four-day seminar produced the regional marketing and branding strategic plan one each for the four regions.

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is an attached agency of the Department of Tourism mandated to market and promote the Philippines domestically and internationally as a world-class tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Events) destination, in strategic partnership with private and public stakeholders to deliver a unique high-value experience for visitors, significantly contributing to increased arrivals, receipts and investments to the country. While the AIT is the premier institution of tourism education in the Philippines. It is the first school in Southeast Asia to offer a four-year degree program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Tourism. Its mission is to upgrade the travel and tourism profession by providing high quality education and training to students who will be the industry's future leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, and technical experts. The Institute performs the three basic functions of teaching, research and extension.

Luzonians, Visayans and even Mindanoans particularly the present generation has no idea why in the world a city in southern Philippines was named after a general. A short history of the city can be surfed in the net particularly Wikipedia. The nomadic B'laan people are the original inhabitants of General Santos City, and traces of their early settlement of the area are found in the city's place names, which are derived from their vocabulary. Their name for the city, Dadiangas, is from the thorny Ziziphus spina-christi tree that was once abundant in the area. The B'laan tribe presently lives alongside the city's new generation of settlers and other immigrants. Organized under the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) of the Commonwealth Government of President Manuel L. Quezon, General Paulino Torres Santos (June 22, 1890 – August 29, 1945) led the relocation of 62 Christian settlers from Luzon to the shores of Sarangani Bay aboard the steam ship “Basilan” of Compañia Maritima on February 27, 1939. The 62 pioneers, mostly agricultural and trade graduates, were the first large batch of settlers to land in the area with the mission to industriously cultivate the region. General Santos was Commanding General of the Philippine Army in 1936 and served as a civilian administrator under President Quezon. He died a hero during the Japanese Occupation. After the first influx of pioneers, thousands more Christians from Luzon and the Visayas have subsequently moved into the area, gradually driving some of the resident B'laan to the mountains. In March 1939, the first formal settlement in the city was established in Alagao, now Barangay Lagao. Lagao district was known then as the "Municipal District of Buayan" under the jurisdiction of the deputy governor of the Municipal District of Glan. On October 1, 1940, Buayan officially became an independent municipal district. On August 18, 1947, after the Second World War, the Buayan became a 4th class regular municipality by virtue of the Executive Order No. 82 absorbing the Municipal District of Glan with Dadiangas as the seat of government. On June 1954, the Municipality of Buayan was renamed to General Santos as a tribute to the leading pioneer via Republic Act No. 1107. On July 8, 1968, the Municipality of General Santos was converted into a city upon the approval of Republic Act No. 5412. On September 5, 1988, General Santos was declared a highly urbanized city of South Cotabato.

The region, on the other hand, used to be named Central Mindanao. On August 1, 1989, with the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), provinces and cities were re-organized. On September 2001, Executive Order No. 36 was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo transferring South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos (also known as the SocSarGen District), and Koronadal from Southern Mindanao to Region XII, and renaming the region from Central Mindanao to SOCCSKSARGEN.

DOT Regional Director Nelly Nita N. Dillera narrated in her speech the beauty of SOCCKSARGEN and the hardship of promoting the region because of the bad publicity about Mindanao. The director; however, took this as a challenge and boasted that no bad advertisement would be a hindrance to hungry for adventure tourists to visit southern Philippines especially the region called “SOX” by the millennials and zenials.