TOURIST DRAW
SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez envisioned the Pagasa Island in Palawan to be the Maldives of the Philippines.
During his visit to Pagasa Island, Romualdez appreciated the beauty of the place which, if provided with more tourism facilities and attractions could turn into another tourist destination.
“Napakaganda dito baka pwede itong maging tourist destination.There are other islands that we would like to develop…parang sa Maldives, so pwede sigurong maging Philippine Maldives… So we shall invite everyone to come and visit. But we shall develop the facilities here, the airport, the seaport and the other facilities within the Kalayaan Island group,” Romualdez said.
On this note, Romualdez said the Congress may consider increasing the budget not just of the Department of National Defense (DND) but also the Department of Tourism (DoT) in order to develop the place.
Earlier, Romualdez said the House of Representatives will try to allocate at least P3 billion for development projects on Pag-asa Island, the main island and the seat of the town of Kalayaan in Palawan.
He made the commitment following a visit to the remote town in the West Philippine Sea.
“Well initially, just for the airport and the reclamation here, we’re looking at a budget of at least P3 billion for the airport reclamation extension, which coincides with the naval port and fishing sanctuary (for fishermen),” the House leader said.
“Definitely, asahan ng buong Pag-asa at Kalayaan Island group that help and support is on the way. We have the leadership of the House of Representatives where the budget emanates. Baka meron pa tayong maihabol dito sa bicam na ‘yung mga priority na tulong. We are looking at doing some reclamation here to facilitate a longer, wider runway and that will also help for the naval port and fishing port area here at the other end of the runway,” he added.
