DOT, DPWH to open roads to tourist destinations in E. Samar

Balangiga Encounter Monument, Poblacion, Balangiga, E. Samar [Photo by: Christoper Zamora]

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar, April 26 (PIA) -- The Department of Tourism in Region 8 (DOT-8) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (DEO) held a meeting recently, this city.

The objective of the said activity is to find ways to alleviate poverty through infrastructure, tourism and employment projects.

Ricardo D. Odita, OIC-district engineer, said that national agencies like the DOT is tying-up with the DPWH to come up with infrastructure projects beneficial to urban areas in terms of tourism and employment. This is a dream of every local community that do not have the capacity to finance such projects.

Odita added that some of these projects had already started like the upgrading of access road in Brgy. Lalawigan, the jump-off point to Brgy. Divinubo island with a total cost of P16 million.

Another is the upgrading of access road leading to the municipality of Maydolong's Closed Canopy Forest Area costing P50 million.

There is also the upgrading of Brgy. Sulangan-Guiuan road with an appropriation of P100 million being implemented by the DPWH-8.

"Once this access road to the tourist destinations is rehabilitated and improved, it will result in the increase of commerce through economic development and tourist activity, not only in the province of Eastern Samar but in the region as well," Odita said.

Meanwhile, during the meeting proper, Karina Rosa S. Tiopes, regional director of DOT-8 presented the revised Tourism Road Infrastructure Priority Project Criteria (TRIPPC).

In her presentation, she emphasized the importance of 5As which means: Access, Accommodation, Attraction, Activity, and Amenities.

She also presented the list of projects evaluated by the Regional Technical Working Group (RTWG) using the TRIPPC.

For Eastern Samar, there are four projects, namely, 1) the rehabilitation/improved of 0.6 kilometers (km) access road leading to jump-off point of Ando Island (Brgy. Punta Maria), including the access roads leading to travel destinations within the island and Installation of safety devices, signage and lighting, Borongan City; 2) upgrading of access road (gravel to paved) from National Highway to Minasangay Ecological Park, including box culvert and signage, Brgy. 1, Balangkayan, E. Samar; 3) upgrading of access road (gravel to paved) from National Highway to Amandaraga Falls, Brgy. Ginob-an, Lalawigan, E. Samar; and 4) installation of directional and cautionary signage leading to Balangiga Encounter Monument, Poblacion, Balangiga, E. Samar.

Tiopes further said that these projects will be endorsed by Working Group to the National Technical Working Group (DOT-DPWH) for review and final approval.

"If this proposed project will be realized, it will create jobs, livelihood opportunities and business," Tiopes said.

Twenty-four participants attended the said activity composed mostly of municipal planning & development officers, municipal engineers, Tito Codoy, mayor of Llorente, and Jaime Ty, mayor of Gen. Mac-Arthur, E. Samar.

These projects are in line with the social contract of the President to the people. (SDC-PIA 89, E. Samar)

P9.8-M livelihood projects for tourism proposed

LOCAL government units have proposed a P9.8-million livelihood project for tourism development in Eastern Visayas next year, under the National Government’s bottom-up budgeting approach.

Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said that priority projects depart from the traditional construction of tourism infrastructure funded by the central government.

“This fills the gap in our budget. The focus is product development and capability building activities, which will generate jobs in rural communities,” Tiopes told Leyte Samar Daily Express.

According to Tiopes, livelihood opportunities generated from tourist arrivals will help the community appreciate the value of tourism. The focus is tourism-related services.

Of the P9.8 million proposed, P8.12 million will be coming from the central government and P1.68 million will be the counterpart of participating local government units,” she added.

Sites that will be prioritized for product development are the San Bernardino Natural Cold Spring in Caibiran, Biliran; World War II historical sites in Pastrana, Leyte; Lake Danao, Kandion cave and mangrove areas in Ormoc City; World War II historical lighthouse in Catbalogan City, and Barangay Laygayon in Pinabacdao, Samar.

Focused areas for capability building are the marine sports tourism in Macrohon, Southern Leyte; sun and beach tourism in San Jose, Northern Samar; nature adventure tourism in Rock Island of Biri, Northern Samar; heritage and cultural tourism in Allen, Northern Samar; Divinubo Ando Islands and Monbon Islet in Borongan City, Eastern Samar; Milan Falls in Taft, Eastern Samar; Amandaraga Falls in Lawaan, Eastern Samar; festival in Lope de Vega, Northern Samar; and Sohoton Cave in Basey, Samar.

Amandaraga Falls, Lawaan, Eastern Samar [Photo by: Roneil Canillas]

Bottom-up budgeting approach was piloted by nine government agencies for 2013 national budget. It employs a breakthrough “bottom-up” approach contrary. Contrary to the conventional way of allocating resources from top to bottom, grassroots communities are engaged in budget preparation.

The cabinet cluster on human development and poverty reduction has identified 300 to 400 of the poorest municipalities and will engage these in crafting community-level poverty reduction and empowerment plans.

“This approach aims to empower the poor communities with unique tourism asset to identify and prioritize their local poverty reduction plans for inclusion in the budgets of our office for 2014,” Tiopes added.

If a local government unit (LGU) is technically capable of implementing projects, budget will be transferred to concerned LGUs but it will be under the scrutiny of the Department of Tourism.

Under the new tourism sectoral plan, Eastern Visayas is eyeing more than half a million tourist arrivals by 2016, targeting domestic visitors from three regions and foreign tourists from Europe and other five countries.

Of the 523,842 target number of tourists, 485,385 are domestic and 38,460 are foreign. The sectoral plan eyes tourists from within the region, Central Visayas, and the National Capital Region. Target foreign tourists are from USA, Australia, Japan, Europe, Korea, and China. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)