WITH the Philippines’s infinite coastline of powdery white sands, beach parties are common occurrence among fun-loving Filipinos.
But more often than not, these events have been called out due to the massive amount of waste materials they generate and the impact it makes on the environment.
Down south in Gumasa Beach in Glan, Sarangani, partygoers have been trooping to this strip of white sand for the Sarangani Bay (SarBay) Festival, not just for a tropical merrymaking, but also to celebrate the nurture of Mother Earth.
Since its inception in 2006, organizers have been stressing the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the vicinity even as they rock the nights away.
“SarBay is the biggest, cleanest and brightest beach festival. Year after year we have done so much to work on getting our environmental advocacy into real, tangible efforts of creating a culture of responsible tourism,” said Michelle Lopez-Solon, who heads both the tourism councils of Sarangani province and Region 12.
And while environmental protection has been an integral part of the event, she said that organizers introduce innovative means every year to get their message across among the so-called SarBay citizens.
She said that this year, visitors were given cell-phone load and freebies in exchange of every trash disposal, and popular consumer brands were given the opportunity for their environmental advocacy through on-site education. A ban on the use of single-use plastics was also enforced to reduce the volume of nonbiodegradable wastes.
“On the shoreline, we had huge installations where visitors took a selfie and posted on social media and placed their trash. Three creative installations were used as disposal bins and became a backdrop of the festival. This is a unique and fun way on how our SarBay citizens keep the environment clean and the beach at its best condition,” she enthused.
To get the youth’s active participation, there were interactive games and a “planet camp,” and social media was extensively used.
According to the municipal environment resources office of Glan, the garbage collected for the entirety of the event was 48 cubic meters, consisting of 30-percent biodegradable, 30-percent residuals and 40-percent recyclable—a huge volume which could have gone directly into the sea if not for the round-the-clock cleanup they undertook.
To ensure cleanliness of the bay, volunteer scuba divers did a “scubasurero” cleanup to pick up rubbish which has settled under water.
The three-day summer event brought together sought-after bands Rocksteddy, 6Cyclemind, Ben&Ben and This Band, as well as disc jockeys Kouta Kutsuma, Cupcakes, DJ Battle, Tom Taus and Carlo Atendido. It drew more than 150,000 visitors from all over the country.
Other fringe activities were the 15-kilometer swim across the Bay relay, Asia’s most extreme swimming event, and sporting events such as SarBay Strongman, beach volleyball and football, jet ski race, bancathon, mountain bike, skimboarding and frisbee tournaments. There were also a series of wellness and recreational activities for the family.
SarBay Fest is a consistent recipient of the annual Pearl Award for the Best Tourism Event from the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines.
“The Provincial Government of Sarangani and the Department of Tourism are committed to inculcate the importance of preserving our seas, and Sarangani Bay will be a benchmark in the implementation of tourism activities which are environment-friendly and family-oriented,” Solon concluded.