Exhilarating and amazing as it was, the Gali-Langoy Eco-Adventure Race will have its second edition not next year but this coming September.
This was promised by Mayor Hernani A. Braganza during the awarding rites of this very successful staging of this unique aqua-triathlon at Lucap Wharf here to the delight of the participants and tourists alike.
"The competition looked too easy for our athletes," said Braganza referring to the island to island swim, island to island parao and island to mainland kayak race which was covered by GMA 7 and ABS-CBN and local radio stations and print media.
“We might just as well make it more competitive and even longer to bring out the best in them,” added the city’s biggest sports fan and enthusiast.
“Probably a 3-day event will do, a whole day swim relay, another day for parao race and one more day for kayak race from Hundred Islands to the mainland.”
Braganza said the activity will be this September as the highlight of the celebration of the 6th anniversary of the Hundred Islands turn-over from the Philippine Tourism Authority to the city government of Alaminos.
The mayor, who personally witnessed how exciting the race was and how the eleven teams enjoyed the competition, was surprised how the local tankers finished the 1.41 kilometer swim leg in 37 minutes.
He also disclosed that after seeing the parao race, local and foreign tourists expressed interest on renting the parao and possibly go fishing outside the marine sanctuary.
Braganza said local fishermen using parao nowadays could easily have an income of P 200 a day from an average of 4 -5 kilos of fish caught.
“If they will have it rented to our guests, they could easily earn P 200 in just an hour," he explained.
“And this will basically be another livelihood opportunity for our people aside from the kayaking industry which is now flourishing in our city. We wanted the Hundred Islands to be bigger than Burnham Park from our sister city - Baguio and ultimately be known as the kayaking capital of the country".
Team Telbang 2 which dominated the swimming competition is this year’s champion with Team Lucap 1 and Team Telbang finishing the second and third place, respectively.
Ryan Gutierez easily claimed the Lopez to Quezon swim leg and submitted a 5.52 mins., Nelson Casipit ( 23.09 mins.) ruled the Quezon to Clave Islands leg and Aldrin Gutierrez (18.85 mins) won the Clave to Children Island leg.
In parao race, Team Lucap 1 reigned supreme and the winning pairs were Ronnie Alcartado/Roger Abrocio, (18.85mins), Rey Villena/JR Donato (13.28 mins) and Joeny Navarro Jr./Dendo Villena (19.09mins).
The duo of Alcartado and Abrocio also topped the Governor Island to Lucap wharf kayak race which clocked 28.06 mins.
Top three teams in the First Gali-Langoy Eco-Adventure Race received especially designed e-kawayan trophies, medals and cash prizes amounting to P 30, 000, P 20, 000 and P10, 000 for the first, second and third placers respectively.
Leg winners also received P 3, 000 pesos each while the top finishers in the grueling Quezon to Clave Islands and Clave to Children Island swim legs got P 5, 000 each.
Non winning teams also received a P 3,000 consolation prize.
Mayor Braganza personally handed the prizes to the race winners.Joining him during the awarding rites were Vice Mayor Cesar Manzano, city councilors Earl James Aquino and Margielou Orange Humilde, Jose Elvis Sison, Gali-langoy chairman; ACPO Chief- Col. Rollie Saltat, vice chairman; and Ernesto Sarmiento, race director.
In separate interviews with Pangasinan media and ABS-CBN North Central Luzon and GMA 7, Braganza thanked the organizers, sponsors and the participations for the successful staging of this one of a kind eco-sports adventure.
He cited that Gali-langoy is another program of our city government aimed at promoting not just the majestic beauty of the Hundred Islands National Park but also the Alaminians’ innate talent in swimming and sheer endurance in eco-adventure sports, stressed the mayor.
“This event is one of the highlights of this year’s celebration of our Pista’y Dayat (Sea Festival) that includes the thanks-giving mass, iguhit mo ang yaman ng hundred islands (pantalan art painting),the nightly concert at the wharf and highly anticipated fireworks display and the MOA signing on the crafting of short courses in our city,” he said.
“Through Gali-langoy, we are also promoting these low impact environment friendly activities in order to protect the natural habitat and breeding ground of hundreds of marine species that now thrive in our park,” he stressed.
One that will further ensure a healthier and bountiful protein bowl for Alaminians and the Pangasinenses in general.
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