Mayor Panambo vows cooperation with biz group to promote ‘talaba’ village

NEW WASHINGTON, Aklan—New Washington Mayor Jessica Panambo has welcomed the initiative of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Akan (PCCI-Aklan) for cooperation to improve the talabahan village at Barangay Tambak, New Washington.

PCCI-Aklan Lloyd Macahilig’s meeting with Panambo on September 22 at the conference hall in New Washington aimed to express the concern not only of the stakeholders but also of seafood consumers as well.

“The town of New Washington has been known to produce first-class oysters. However, most of these premium oysters were being exported to Metro Manila. What remains in Talabahan village was of low quality. These turn off consumers who personally came to New Washington to experience first-hand the premium oysters,” Macahilig said.
It was learned that many of the oysters from New Washington were either sold in hotels or restaurants but were also made into oyster sauce.

Ramel Buncalan, PCCI-Aklan past president and a member of the Board of Trustees, also suggested the New Washington LGU conduct an inventory of oysters.

For her part, Mayor Panambo said she acknowledged the concerns. She said she had already talked to several stakeholders about these.

“I will conduct a meeting soon with the harvesters of oysters for us to come up with an agreement and for them to prioritize supplying first-class to our Talabahan village for it to become a tourist attraction,” she added.

Already, the local government is building a storage building near the seaport that will hopefully serve as a one-stop shop for seafood supplies.