Palawan girds for more tourists

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY -– The provincial government of Palawan is gearing up to further boost the tourism sector through the development of infrastructure facilities and provision of reliable power supply and other programs that would make travel in the province more convenient.
The world class island-paradise composed of 1,780 islands and islets, rocky coves and white sand beaches has become one of the premier destinations in the Philippines.
It’s new governor, Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra, son of the late former House Speaker Ramon V. Mitra Jr., puts tourism industry as one of its priorities on his HEAT (Health, Education, Agriculture and Tourism) Program.

”Tourism is an important lifeblood of Palawan’s economy, without which, the province would have suffered an internal hemorrhage,” Gov. Mitra said.
The governor considers tourism as an income generating venture that should be continuously honed according to internationally acceptable standards.
Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and Undersecretary Vicente Romano III were in Puerto Princesa City earlier to conduct a planning workshop to update the Department of Tourism (DOT) overseas officers in the marketing and promotion directions of Philippine tourism on which Palawan is again given a chance to showcase its majestic attractions to the world.
”We are blessed with somebody like Sec. Lim at the helm of the industry. He knows Palawan very well,” Mitra said.
Sec. Lim is a Palawan tourism veteran having served as long-time president of Ten Knots Corporation, an operator of world-class resorts in northern Palawan until 2006. He also founded Palawan Tourism Council and became its first president.
He also established El Nido Foundation which was responsible for the El Nido Protected Area Management Board that helps people in communities improve their way of living.
On June 29, 2010, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III picked him as his Secretary for Tourism.
”You see, the secretary knows Palawan by heart,” Mitra added.
To provide a reliable supply of energy, the provincial government has just concluded the first Palawan Energy Summit where short and long term solutions to the energy problems of the province were identified.
Pinpointed possible solutions are the use of renewable energy sources such as sun, wind and water. The use of coal fired generators and gas condensates are also being studied upon by energy experts.
The provincial government is seeking the assistance of Pres. Aquino on its local energy problem since 40% of Luzon’s energy supply comes from Palawan through the natural gas provided by the Camago-Malampaya Gas Reservoir in El Nido, Palawan.
Aside from these, the energy summit produced a resolution endorsing the Capital Expenditure Plan of Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) to the Energy Regulatory Commission, and easement to undertake rehabilitation and on-going National Power Corporation transmission project to Roxas municipality.
It also bid out PALECO for additional power generating capacity in December 2010.
NPC President Froilan Tampingco appreciated the initiatives of Mitra in holding the summit.
”We can use the results of the activity as reference on our future programs for the province,” Tampingco said.
Mitra reported that they had just completed the 2011 Provincial Development Plan for Palawan that would likewise strengthen and help increase tourist arrival.
”We have just finished our annual provincial planning and development workshop. It was the culmination of the zonal planning workshop wherein the comprehensive development approach is based on the zone’s strengths, potentials and opportunities,” the young governor said.
Participatory and consultative democracy in planning that was implemented prior to the workshop was conducted with the active and direct participation of the local government units in the province as represented by the municipal planning and development officers who by the very nature of their work are the ones who can really identify the priority plans and programs in their locality, Mitra added.
With the help of DOT, there had been created a tourism master plan for both southern Palawan and northern Palawan areas.
Northern Palawan is classified as a purely tourism destination while the southern part of the province is considered as an agri-ecotourism district.
The master plans guide the tourism developments in the municipalities.
On the pipeline is the creation of the Palawan Investment Promotion Center which shall cater to and market investments in the province particularly the tourism investments which Mitra believes shall ultimately redound to a healthier economy and more jobs for the Palaweños.
”During my previous terms as Palawan’s second district congressman, I have been pushing to declare Palawan as the eco-tourism capital of the Philippines, though there are also some provinces continuously contending for the title. However, we still consider Palawan to be the best above the rest because we are the last ecological frontier of the country,” Mitra said.
Palawan is the country’s last frontier because it is the last unsettled area in the whole archipelago. Several islands remained uninhabited and unexplored.
It serves as undisturbed sanctuary of various marine and terrestrial animals which makes Palawan as the biggest natural wildlife reservation area in the country.
Among its top tourist destinations are the Tubbataha Reef, Puerto Princesa Underground River, El Nido Marine Reserve, Tabon Cave, Coron beaches and the Amanpulo Resort.
The province offers an array of activities such as island hopping, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming.
”When in Palawan, take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints, bring nothing but memories and kill nothing but time,” Mitra said.