• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Local government units from Negros Occidental and Bacolod City received honors at the 2026 Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) Pearl Awards held in Ormoc City on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Leading the Negros awardees was Sipalay City with three awards in the component city category.
Sipalay secured a three-peat victory in the Best Tourism Month/Week Celebration category for its 19th Sipalay City Tourism Month Celebration. It also won Best Practices on Sustainable Tourism for “Green BEaCH – A Climate Resiliency Park” and Best Tourism-Oriented LGU for “Sustainability Beyond the Shoreline.”
Sagay City also won three awards as Best Tourism Souvenir (Non-Food) for “From Waste to Wear: Bulidhon Upcycle Accessories,” Best Tourism Promotions Brochure for its city tourism brochure, and Best Practices in Community-Based Tourism for “A Maze of Wonders, A Lifeline for All: The Lapus-Lapus Community-Based Tourism Story.”
The awards highlighted the two cities’ efforts to combine tourism with environmental conservation, cultural heritage, climate resilience, and community participation.
In the highly urbanized city category, Bacolod City was named champion in Best Tourism Promotions Brochure for “Bacolod City: Your Pocket Guide to Experience the City of Smiles.”
Bacolod also earned first runner-up honors in Best Sports Tourism Event for Masskaralympics 2025; Best International Event Hosting for Terra Madre Asia and Pacific; Best Local Event Hosting for the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival; and Best Tourism Event Cultural Festival for the Bacolod MassKara Festival 2025.
The Negros Occidental Tourism Division placed first runner-up in Best Tourism Promotions Brochure for “Sabor sang Buglas: Food Guide of Negros Occidental,” while Bago City secured second runner-up in Best Practices in Community-Based Tourism for its “Slow Food Community: Safeguard and Promote the Food and Cultural Heritage of Bago” initiative. | GPB
