Sicogon reopens for tourism

Playground of the rich and famous was how many people called Sicogon in the 1970s and the 1980s. Today, the island in Carles town, Iloilo province, is being reborn as a tourism mecca in Western Visayas.

“The revival of Sicogon is good, not just for me but for the next generation of Sicogon residents,” says Arnaldo Salcedo,  52, chief cook of Balay Kogon.

Balay Kogon is a cluster of six quaint cottages nestled between the sea and hills, and overlooking the crystal-clear blue beach, Tumaquin Islet and the Molo-Polo rock formation, and Mt. Opao from the rear.

More two-room cottages are expected to open this month, with about 100 rooms targeted for completion by year-end, says Rita Ritz Cristobal, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) senior associate for marketing and sales.

Sicogon has a 4.3-hectare lagoon and a 5-kilometer coastline with pristine ivory sand.

Master plan

Located 138 km from Iloilo City, it is being developed by Sicogon Island Tourism Estate Corp., a joint venture of ALI and Sicogon Development Corp. (Sideco), which is based in Negros Occidental province.

ALI, the majority stakeholder and developer, has drawn up a master plan to develop 334 ha of the 1,100-ha island. It will maintain the 282-ha protected forest area.

Cristobal says the company has initially invested P1 billion for infrastructure and other development projects in Sicogon.

So far, 178 islanders have been hired, and many of them, including Salcedo, say they are excited to work there.

“My children and grandchildren will not have to go away to find jobs,” Salcedo says. The cook has eight children.

Angelica Sederio, 19, is now a food and beverage service associate at Balay Kogon after completing a six-month course made possible by ALI.

Sederio, who has eight siblings, says her fisherman-father, Angelo, 46, had worked at the Ayala construction site on the island. “Our family is sure to have food on the table all the time,” she says.

A warm smile from locals, a breathtaking view of the mountains and the sea welcome visitors to Sicogon Island.—CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Evangeline Denaga, 50, a housekeeping service associate, used to sell goods near the school in Sicogon. With a regular job at Balay Kogon, she can now send her children to school.

Her husband also works as a security guard at the resort.

Exclusive to club members

Salcedo remembers the glory days of Sicogon when the well-heeled came on leisure time.

Sideco bought the island in the 1970s from the heirs of Jose Maria and Jesusa Arroyo, and established an exclusive membership club that was later opened to Europeans and other tourists. In 1974, the island was the location site for the filming of the movie “Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa,” which starred 1969 Miss Universe Gloria Diaz.

The resort was closed in 1989, forcing workers to go back to fishing and charcoal-making.

When Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) hit Sicogon, more than half of the population in the three barangays lost their houses and almost all fishing boats were wiped out.

The residents were hard up when the resort closed, Salcedo says. He himself had to leave for Manila to work in restaurants for almost 13 years.

ALI sent materials for temporary shelter and donated boats for the typhoon survivors, Cristobal says.

At present, the island is bustling with tourism-related activities, says Jess Abelard Ercilla, Balay Kogon manager. These include snorkeling, beach picnics, kayaking, trekking in the 350-meter Mt. Opao, and island hopping.

At the nearby Gigantes Group of Islands is Tangke Lagoon, which is described in foklore as the dipping pool of “giants.”

Guests can go to Antonia Beach Bantigue sandbar to buy scallops or to Cabugao Island to experience a breathtaking view of the vast Visayan Sea.

Under its master plan, ALI plans to build a hotel, residences, retail shops, bars and restaurants, waterfront dining establishments, forest trails and diving sports sites.

The company aims to finish the 1.3-km airstrip by the end of the year, a 54-room bed-and-breakfast facility in the airport complex, and a jetty port.