TABUK CITY, KALINGA — Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco emphasized the Department of Tourism’s efforts to encourage the merging of tourist destinations. She expressed full support for tourism development in Kalinga, highlighting its significant potential to generate jobs and livelihood opportunities for local communities.
Department of Tourism chief pushes for preservation of culture, heritage in Kalinga Province
The statement was given by the tourism chief during their attendance at the 31st Bodong Festival, which is part of the province’s founding anniversary celebration.
In her keynote address, Secretary Frasco emphasized the importance of “guided growth,” ensuring that tourism development benefits communities while safeguarding their culture and environment.
“Accessibility must improve. Skills must be further strengthened, and infrastructure must support, not overwhelm, our communities. This is why the Department of Tourism fully supports our national government programs to provide connectivity and accessibility to Kalinga Province as well as to improve connectivity to heritage villages and natural sites, and strengthen the capacities of tourism workers through the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence,” she said.
As of January 31, 2026, the DOT has trained 741 tourism workers through the FBSE and 212 in the Tourism Industry Skills Program (TISP). TISP includes programs like Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP), Community Tour Guiding, Tourism Awareness, and Capacity-Building Seminars.
The DOT has been supporting Pasil, a municipality in Kalinga, through its Slow Food initiatives. Chele Gonzalez, a Michelin-starred chef, sources heirloom rice from Pasil for his rice dishes after participating in slow food events in Turin, Italy, and Bacolod City, Negros Oriental. Pasil has also received the DOT’s Best Tourism Village award.
Currently, travelers can reach Kalinga by long-distance bus from Manila. For air travel, visitors can fly the Manila-Tuguegarao route via Cagayan or the Manila-Cauayan route via Isabela, followed by a short land trip to the province. To enhance tourist convenience, local leaders have urged the DOT to set up Tourist Rest Areas in the towns of Balbalan, Rizal, Tinglayan, and the capital, Tabuk City.
Tabuk City has also won the prestigious ASEAN Clean Tourist City Award twice in a row, under the ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards. The tourism chief noted that during the Marcos Administration, the DOT remained committed to promoting tourism that conserves heritage, empowers communities, and generates tangible economic benefits for local people.
Secretary Frasco personally observed how Kalinga’s people uphold their culture during the Bodong Festival, where she served as the guest of honor. Subtribes from various municipalities gather to present cultural performances that highlight their traditions, including “Salip,” or matrimonial rites, and “Gabbok,” or first-born dedication ceremonies, featuring ancestral songs, dances, and rituals rooted in the province’s rich cultural heritage.
During the Grand Cultural Finale, she participated in a unity dance with local officials, serving as a heartfelt tribute to Kalinga’s identity, resilience, and hope for the future.
Protecting heritage while enjoying tourism
Kalinga Governor James Edduba states that their communities recognize the significance of culture as a key part of their identity.
“Our traditions must not diminish. Instead, they must evolve with dignity, be preserved with pride, and be passed on with a purpose to the next generation. Progress should never mean forgetting who we are. True development happens when growth is uncovered in identity,” said Governor Edduba.
The Secretary’s message was also reinforced by Rep. Caroline Agyao of the Lone District of Kalinga, who emphasized during the opening ceremony that tourism should be conducted properly.
“Secretary, your presence here today is a recognition that Kalinga has something the world is searching for authenticity. In an era of mass tourism and homogenized experiences, travelers no longer want just a beach and a buffet. They want a story. They want a soul. They want to stand on the rice terraces cared for by ancestors, hear the echo of the chant of our elders, and meet the woman whose plant has kept an art alive for decades, siya po si Apo Whang Od. We have all of this, but we also have a responsibility. We have to tell our story on our own terms,” she said.
“Tourism, if done carelessly, can become a predator dressed as a gift. It can reduce our sacred rituals to scheduled performances. It can turn our elders into photographs,” the congresswoman said.
According to statistics, domestic tourism accounts for a significant share of Kalinga Province’s tourism industry. In 2025, the DOT-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) recorded 331,447 same-day visitors to the province, of whom 329,856 were local tourists.
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