LINGAYEN Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil wants a MacArthur Landing Memorial Park constructed in his town in collaboration with the Department of Tourism (DOT) to relive history and to boost tourism in Pangasinan’s capital town.

“Historically, MacArthur landed here (Lingayen) on January 9, 1945 during World War 2. We will put this up to commemorate the heroism of our Filipino warriors who stood their ground, along with American forces, during the war,” Bataoil said.

“We are seeking funding support from international agencies like the American Heritage Society and the MacArthur Foundation to make this a reality,” he said during the Network Briefing News on Monday.

Once the MacArthur Landing Memorial Park is established, Mayor Bataoil said they plan to organize an annual reunion of the ancestors of the soldiers of both American and Japanese forces and even the allied forces who came here.

He said the Lingayen Gulf Baywalk, a 15-kilometer stretch connecting Lingayen and Binmaley shorelines, was constructed right in the Capitol beachfront where the allied forces landed as a commemoration of the historical event and now serves a place where families can get together.

“At the end of the baywalk is the Limahong Tourism Center which is used for meetings, weddings, and other social activities,” Bataoil added.

“We built the Limahong Tourism Center because we want to enhance tourism. We wanted to invite Chinese tourists because the majority of tourists all over the world are Chinese,” he said.

The center is envisioned to be a venue where people will converge to appreciate nature and history; and where they can find leisure through diverse activities, such as river cruise, and bike and all-terrain vehicle rides, among many others.

The Limahong Channel had been identified as a tourist spot in 2018 by virtue of House Bill 6682 authored by Bataoil. (PIA Pangasinan)

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