SOARsogon: How Sorsogon prepares to reopen its doors to the world

With the COVID-19 barging in, the whole world is on pause. Since then, the tourism industry has been particularly quiet, with unprecedented revenue and employment losses. But even without local tourism, Sorsogon has done quite a successful job of adjusting to the "new normal.”

Francis Chiz Escudero, the incumbent Governor of Sorsogon, leaves behind an indelible mark not just to improve his province but to lay the blueprint for public servants in the face of escalating rants about local governments barely doing anything to combat the virus.

“Mula noong naging gobernador ako ng lalawigan ng Sorsogon, sinikap ko [syempre] na maipakita sa kanila ‘yong mga nakita ko sa iba’t ibang parte ng Pilipinas at ng mundo,” he said.

He wanted not only to raise consciousness among his countrymen, but also to raise the standard and quality of public service to which they had been accustomed for a long time.

PROVINCE NOT YET OPEN

However, most of the establishments are still closed because Sorsogon is not yet open to tourism like other places. Escudero mentioned that Baguio is said to have opened but it is limited to 200 people who can visit the whole of Baguio. Hence, it isn´t really open.

"The province of Sorsogon will open when it is safe. They say, whatever time we spend today, we are preparing for the grand opening again — not only of the province, not only of the Philippines but — of the whole world after the pandemic.”

In addition, he pointed out that the air, rivers, and beaches are cleaner because of lockdowns and travel restrictions, and that's what we can expect when our country reopens.

#MahalKongSorsogon

For Heart Evangelista, the home province of her husband Chiz is a hidden paradise. It cannot be profoundly expressed how beautiful the undiscovered beaches are. And, now that we have social media, it has been very heplful for them to showcase what Sorsogon really is that people don´t get to see all the time.

She loves sharing social media with Sorsogon. She also admitted how grateful she is that she met Chiz because he introduced Sorsogon to her. It became her second home because they used to go there a lot. So, she’s happy that Sorsogon is being highlighted; it’s a place people can go to after this pandemic.

Heart believes that it’s preparing itself to the “great relaunch of the world.” She said it’s the same thing with Sorsogon; that we’re not technically on “pause.”

During the few weeks that Heart stayed in Sorsogon, she took the time to see how businesses were doing. She concluded that it was the perfect time to “really” support local. At the time, she was launching a website and instagram account for her collaborations and designs, and that she didn’t mind launching it with Sorsogon finds.

“Everybody is just really gearing up to welcoming everyone in Sorsogon,” Heart proudly claimed.

She also commended her husband’s preparation for the relaunch: developing a lot of places and building infrastructures. “It’s a pause, but in a way that it’s about building [the place.] It’s something you can look forward to in the future.”

The Great Relaunch

The local government of Sorsogon have been giving assistance to the affected sectors. The number of sectors and people affected are surely going down as well.

They have successfully fetched 3,700 Sorsoganons stranded in Manila since March 20. Most of them were construction workers and have been given jobs in the province so they won´t have to go back anymore.

And as far as the tourism sector is concerned, they have an employment program whereby they engage them to clean up the areas that will be future tourism sites as well as past ones so they are not left without a livelihood.

Since Sorsogon is an agricultural province, all fishermen and farmers considered exempt for many lockdowns or travel restrictions. The governor claims that very “few” people are affected with the restrictions and even the lack of local tourism.

They continue to develop products that they can showcase.

"These little initiatives spark something; inspires other artisans that we will continue to grow and collaborate with them,” Heart added.

It speaks for itself when you see it on social media. It keeps everyone curious about Sorsogon; they keep waiting for what else is going to happen.

If Governor Chiz Escudero´s words come true that everything will be completed by March 2021, then Sorsogon will soar and we will be part of its greatness.