A Hilltop Legacy: How One Woman Helped Shape Lake Sebu’s Story
Maria Edna B. Solivio never imagined that a modest hilltop home in Lake Sebu would one day shape the tourism landscape of South Cotabato. In the early 1990s, when the town was still quiet and largely unknown to travelers, Edna and her late husband, Mulong, simply wanted a place to raise tilapia and unwind with friends. What began as a humble retreat overlooking the lake slowly blossomed into Punta Isla Lake Resort—now a cornerstone of the Soccsksargen region’s tourism story. Beginnings by the Water Back then, Lake Sebu had no formal resorts. Edna’s home, built on a slope in Sitio Tuko-fol, was more a resting place than a business venture. With no electricity, no paved roads, and only pump boats to reach the area, it was far from accessible. Yet the view was magnetic, and the hospitality was genuine. “We’d just come, buy tilapia, grill them ourselves, bring our own charcoal and utensils, like a weekend picnic,” Edna recalls. Her friends, enchanted by the simplicity, urged her to ...
