“You are officially amazing”.
That is what Mai Mc Milan, Guinness World Records adjudicator, said as she officially declared the “Manok ni Cano Gwapo Tan” at Campuestohan Highland Resort in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, the largest building in the shape of a chicken in the world, on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Her declaration of the “Manok ni Cano Gwapo Tan” as a Guinness World Records holder and the awarding of its plaque via a video message from London was watched by an audience gathered in Campuestohan.
“Our purpose at Guinness World Records is to make the world a more interesting fun and positive place by recognizing and recording incredible achievements from around the world”, she said.
Last year 5,000 new world records were approved out of more than 55,000 applications submitted, she added.
“These statistics show that it is not an easy task to achieve a Guinness World Records title,” she said.
She said “Manok ni Cano Gwapo Tan” was determined to be the largest in the world based on a surveyor’s findings in the presence of two independent witnesses.
“After careful review of the evidence I am pleased to announce that Ricardo ‘Cano Guapo’ Tan has achieved a Guinness World Records title for the largest building in the shape of a chicken”, she said.
“Today, the once lonely and sleepy Sitio Campuestohan is not only a tourist landmark of the Philippines but is also now the home to the only world record holder of the largest building in the shape of a chicken,” Tan said.
The road to getting a world record and to be certified by Guinness World Records was no joke, he said.
“This all started from my dream of leaving the biggest legacy in this mortal world. A legacy for the people of Negros to be proud of and a legacy that would bring honor to our country,” Tan said.
“From June 10, 2023 when we first dug a hole for the foundation of this structure up to September 8, 2024 when Guinness World Records finally adjudicated us as the largest in the world….it took us 456 days”, he said.
This is an icon that also reflects Negros and its famous fighting cock industry, he added.
“Our fighting cock industry is second to our sugar. When sugar industry slumped and threatened our livelihood, it was the fighting cock industry that rose above the challenge. It gave us millions of pesos of revenue, gave millions of pesos of taxes and employed thousands of people directly and indirectly,” Tan said.
“And just like a rooster that is imposing and commanding, we Filipinos are just like that. Imposing and commanding, proud and free and willing to stand against any challenges that comes our way,” he added.
Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya congratulated Tan and his family for their feat that will further boost local tourism.
He also thanked Tan for continuing to come up with innovations to draw tourists to the province.
The Bacolod and Talisay Sangguniang Panlungsods also passed resolution congratulating Tan for the Guinness World Records recognition.*