SARBAY FEST 2015

Gumasa in Sarangani is poised to become a favored beach destination after this year's Sarbay Fest draws tens of thousands to its white sand shore.

GUMASA, Sarangani – This place was once touted as the South’s version of Boracay. Not anymore. It has acquired a brand of its own; its own unique life. It has become a place to see and be seen in the summer. 

 

It has even become one of life’s great levelers – at least in this part of the Philippines. This year, the beach was deluged with beachgoers, in all sizes and skin tones, from the peasants and proletarians to the bourgeoisie and compradors. They were all there.

Gumasa is where the biggest beach party in the country happens every summer – the Sarangani Bay Festival, now made even more popular with its catchy brand name, “Sarbay Fest.”

Whatever it is, this year’s crowd must be the biggest yet to enjoy the thrills of a beach party that ends all other beach parties in the Philippines.Organizers say 100,000 people invaded the beach, but that may be a tad too many as it would mean putting all but 6,518 Glan town residents in a strip of white sand beaches measuring no more than two kilometers. (Glan, Sarangani has a population of 106,518.)

Fine beaches

Before it became home to Sarbay Fest, Gumasa was always known for its fine white powdery beaches. In the early 1980s, adventurous college students from nearby General Santos would head for its pristine white sand beaches.

In the latter part of that tumultuous decade, however, Gumasa became a largely forgotten attraction as peace and order took its toll on this laid back town, one of the oldest in the region. But there is no escaping the allure of its fine beaches. Tourists, most of them retired expats, have found paradise in this place until a Japanese national was kidnapped in the vicinity, setting back again its development as a major tourist destination.

Still it did not prevent other nationals from finding a haven in Gumasa, among them, a Dutch national who was nearly finished with his castle-inspired 48-room hotel beach resort in nearby Taluya village until he ran afoul with former Glan Mayor Enrique Yap Jr. The world-class facility is now rotting away after Hans Kooring got separated from his Filipina wife.

The Dutch connection

The case of the Dutch national did not escape the attention of former Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez who tried to bridge the gap between the mayor and Kooring. By then, the governor was just warming up for a beach event that would later become synonymous with summer fun.

 

Two months into his first term in 2004, the then 27-year Dominguez was looking for activities that would open the province to tourists and investors. This author suggested a beach festival to differentiate it from the ethnic-inspired festivals across the country.

 

But the problem was, the province shared the same bay with General Santos.

The beach festival was initially envisioned to be a joint activity with the city. But after a couple of meetings, the effort did not bear fruit. So the governor decided to do it alone.

Thus, the Sarangani Bay Festival was born.