MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)—Recognizing the vital contribution of research to the development of cultural tourism, the Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (BCPCH) Lanao del Sur Provincial Office turned over Monday, August 15, a study on cultural and historical assets of the province to the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism (MTIT).

The research project dubbed "Collection and Verification of Data on Cultural and Historical Assets as the Basis for the Development of Cultural Tourism in Lanao del Sur," is the product of the memorandum of understanding between MTIT and BCPCH  to advance the promotion of cultural tourism in the province.

"This is a joint project of MTIT and the Bangsamoro Commission on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. It is about documenting and gathering data about 29 historical and cultural sites in Lanao del Sur. This will be used for the promotion of cultural tourism in the province of Lanao del Sur para yung mga visitors coming from outside the province and the BARMM makita nila na we have these cultural and historical sites that are worth visiting," said BCPCH Lanao del Sur Commissioner Robert M. Alonto.

Alonto said the project will not only strengthen the promotion of cultural tourism in the province but it will also further inform and educate tourists on what Bangsamoro is all about, especially the people of Lanao del Sur.

The project output was received by MTIT Director General Rosslaini A. Sinarimbo who explained that under the collaboration MTIT will manage the promotion of cultural destinations while BCPCH will provide the content.

"Sa pagpromote ng tourist destinations, importante na magkaroon tayo ng tour guide at e-train natin yung mga tour guides ano yung significance ng isang lugar, isang pagkain, isang bagay sa mga Meranaw. But nakita namin na kailangan ng malalim na research para ma verify natin kung totoo ba o tama ba yung sasabihin ng ating mga tourist guide. So naisip namin na magkaroon ng ganito, magcollaborate ang MTIT at ang BCPCH para ma-verify natin ano ba yung totong istorya ng isang lugar, ng isang destination, ng isang bagay, at ng mga pagkain na pinopromote natin sa ating mga turista," she said.

[In the promotion of tourist destinations, it is important that we have a tour guide and that we train our tour guides on the significance of a place, food, or something to the Meranaw people. But we found that deep research is needed so that we can verify if what our tourist guides will say is true or correct. So we thought to have something like this, let MTIT and BCPCH collaborate so that we can verify what is the true story of a place, a destination, and the foods that we are promoting to our tourists.]

Since the project requires the expertise of historians and researchers, Sinarimbo said the BCPCH also partnered with the academe in collecting and verifying the cultural and historical data. 

The turnover of the document was witnessed by MTIT- Provincial Director Mohammad Aquil A. Mamainte, Project History Consultant Tirmizy Abdullah, and Mindanao State University-Meranaw Cultural Heritage Center Director Sorhaila Yusoph-Latiph. (APB/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)