CEBU CITY, Cebu, Aug. 3 (PIA) -- Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas, Jr. continues to push for the expansion of the tourism industry and provide livelihood opportunities to his constituents with the ongoing construction of the Lechon Park in Poblacion, Talisay City.

During the Network Briefing News interview hosted by Presidential Communication Operations Office Sec. Martin Andanar on Aug. 3, Gullas said, "When I sat down as mayor, one of our priorities was to facilitate the tourism industry and lechon (roasted suckling pig) was the forefront of that."

"We could market our lechon as the best, if not one of the best in the whole country, enough to be considered as the "Lechon Capital'," said Gullas. 

He said the city government is currently building a boardwalk and a lechon park, a food court for the lechon facing the sea, and the Talisay Landing (historical landmark), where all lechon makers here can be showcased.

"Put in the right infrastructure for our sellers to sell in a tourism type of environment," he added.

Gullas said the whole park is designed by world-renowned designer Vito Selma.

He said the construction hit a roadblock when the pandemic struck as the city government shifted funds to focus on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response.

"Hopefully, when things get better, tourists can come. We want that when people visit the south of Cebu, that Talisay would be a gateway to tourism destinations there in the south," the mayor added.

"If festivals are still open, we have the Lechon Festival every October. We also want to market how we cook the lechon and why we believe it’s better," Gullas said. 

Meanwhile, in terms of food security in Talisay City, Gullas said the provincial government has been doing the SUBGUsog Program which encourages backyard gardening where people, puroks, individual houses, barangays, schools, and police stations are made to plant vegetables, among others.

He said the city government has also partnered with the agricultural department for their farmers and fisherfolk on projects in their barangays.

"We fast tracked the accreditation so we can continue the Double-A accreditation of our slaughterhouse in Talisay," said Gullas.

With their Double-A accreditation renewed before the National Meat Inspection Service-Central Visayas, the Talisay City Livestock and Poultry Center's, formerly known as the Talisay City slaughterhouse, meat products prepared in their facility can be sold nationwide.

"In every barangay, there are certain communities that really need the government's help and we're taking it on a per barangay and purok basis. We've been directly coordinating with the barangay captains as far as food security is concerned," Gullas added. (IDC/PIA7)