New Tourism Icon In Negros Occidental

The Philippines now boasts the "largest building in the shape of a chicken" in the world, as recognized by Guinness World Records.

The “Manok ni Cano Gwapo” building is located inside the Campuestohan Highland Resort in Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City, Negros Occidental. I Photo: Philippine News Agency

The “Manok ni Cano Gwapo” building is located inside the Campuestohan Highland Resort in Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

This latest tourism icon is a 115-foot hotel structure designed to resemble a rooster. It pays tribute to the province’s multi-billion-peso game fowl industry, with several fighting cock farms situated near the resort, according to a report by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) written by Nanette Guadalquiver.

“Why did I adopt the rooster design? My answer is very simple. Our fighting cock industry is second only to sugar. When the sugar industry declined and threatened our livelihood, it was the fighting cock industry that rose to the challenge,” said owner and former Bacolod City councilor Ricardo Tan during the blessing and inauguration ceremony held over the weekend.

He added that “Manok ni Cano Gwapo” is being promoted as a landmark destination in Negros Occidental by the Department of Tourism (DOT).

According to Guinness World Records, “the largest building in the shape of a chicken measures 34.931 meters (114 feet, 7 inches) in height, 12.127 meters (39 feet, 9 inches) in width, and 28.172 meters (92 feet, 5 inches) in length,” as verified on Sept. 8.

Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines-Western Visayas president Paolo Segubre and Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers-Negros Occidental president Jessica Puey acted as independent witnesses during the measurement of the structure, which took 456 days to complete, starting from June 10, 2023.

“Now, the 115-foot, six-story structure, with 115 steps and 15 hotel rooms, is ready to accept guests,” Tan said.

Jennylind Cordero, DOT-Western Visayas Chief Operations Officer, noted that Campuestohan Highland Resort is one of only 20 out of more than a hundred resorts in Negros Occidental that have met the standards for accreditation.