El Nido LGU concerned about declining Balinsasayaw bird population on the island

The municipality of El Nido in Palawan expressed its concern after the number of balinsasayaw birds in the area seemed to have decreased.

According to Jonathan Andal’s report on “24 Oras,” Tuesday, El Nido residents usually harvest balinsasayaw birds’ nests inside caves, which are made from their saliva.

The harvested saliva is then used to make the popular Nido soup, which helps strengthen one’s metabolism and resistance.

But following the development and growth of El Nido’s tourism, the local government noticed a decrease in the number of balinsasayaw birds along with the number of restaurants that serve the Nido soup.

To address this, El Nido Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim plans to form a technical working committee to focus on the problem.

“Kailangan mapag-aralan bakit ito ay kumakaunti na lang, kung papano maibalik ang balinsasayaw. Kailangan i-require sa mga restaurant na talagang kailangan magserve sila talaga ng Nido soup sa mga guest. Ito ang talagang identity ng El Nido,” she said.

[It is necessary to study why it has become so scarce, how to bring back the balinsasayaw. It should be required for restaurants to truly serve Nido soup to guests. This is the true identity of El Nido.]

Among the restaurant owners who plan to add Nido soup to their menu is Sharon Padua, who says she wants to promote the dish.

“We're known for the seafoods actually, pero dahil ako'y nasa El Nido, I want to be able to promote the balinsasayaw or the Nido soup,” Sharon said.

But there are some environmentalists who are against harvesting balinsasayaws’ nests.

“Some people believe that you're taking away the nest but there's a more conscientious way of doing it naman,” Sharon said.

Just last week, El Nido celebrated the Balinsasayaw Festival, which is timely as the municipality just exceeded its number of tourists before the pandemic.

— Carby Basina/CACM, GMA Integrated News