BACOLOD CITY, April 16 -- The City of Victorias has obtained a total of PHP13 million cash grant to develop a birdwatching site in the famous Gawahon Ecopark.

The northern Negros city, the lone winner from Negros Occidental, received PHP8 million in the nationwide Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC) of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and an additional PHP5 million committed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the winning local government units (LGUs), during the awarding rites held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Monday.

Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, in a statement on Tuesday, thanked the President, DOT Secretary Christina Frasco and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) chief o...