MANKAYAN, Benguet – The municipal government urged individuals interested to try paragliding and paramotor activities in the municipality to first register with the organizers because of the limited slots that are available ad as part of the local government’s compliance to the prescribed restrictions in areas that have been placed under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Mayor Frenzel A. Ayong stated that the pre-registration of paragliding enthusiasts wanting to try the extreme sport is important so that the available limited slots per day could be filled up to allow them to enjoy the same while visiting the municipality.
Further, he said that the available pilots for the paramotor activities is also limited that is why the Bagabag-based organizers of the paragliding and paramotor are continuously training interested locals to be pilots of the paramotor for them to be provided with alternative sources of income during the prevailing difficult times.
The local chief executive disclosed that the organizers of the paragliding and paramotor in the municipality even brought to Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya some residents who are interested to train as local pilots for them to experience the extreme sport in the lowland setting and that they were able to hurdle the difficult trainings that they have to undergo for them to be able to acquire the needed skills for the same.
Last March 11, 2021, the municipal government and the Bagabag-based Northside Paragliding Association launched paragliding and paramotor as the new attraction in the municipality that allowed the municipality to be known as the paragliding haven in the north to help boost the gradual and safe revival of the local economy that was heavily impacted by the implementation of the various levels of community quarantine in the country for over a year now.
Mayor Ayong explained that the imposition of the limitation to the number of individuals that will be accommodated is part of the strategies that had been put in place to prevent the limited pilots from being overwhelmed with the number of enthusiasts wanting to try paragliding and paramotor in the municipality and as part of the local government’s compliance to the imposed restrictions on social gatherings among others.
According to him, many individuals have already signified their intention of visiting the municipality to try the paragliding and paramotor activities which had been widely promoted but what is important is for them to be able to register so that they will be given a definite date when to try the aforesaid activities to help them cope up with the prevailing difficulties that they are experiencing because of the ongoing pandemic.
He pointed out that paragliding and paramotor activities will complement the town’s agriculture and mining industries because it will serve as a avenue for enthusiasts to be able to visit the farming and mining communities and for them to have a glimpse of the major industries in the locality within a short span of time.
Ayong asserted that there is a need for the local government to maximize the tourism potentials of the municipality to be able to provide people with diverse sources of income for them to contribute in efforts to uplift the living condition of their families.
By HENT
Photo by Joseph B. Manzano