ALAMINOS CITY, Oct. 11 (PNA) -- The city of Alaminos is now a certified tourism center in Pangasinan, only five years after it took over the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA).
This was disclosed by Mayor Hernani Braganza who worked for the turn-over of the facility to the city and the Alaminos people who rightfully owned the facility given them by nature.
He said since the turn-over of the tourist spot, by virtue of an executive order signed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on September 29, 2005, Alaminos City continues to enjoy tremendous influx of foreign and local tourists.
Turned over by virtue of Arroyo's Executive Order No. 436 was the management, administration and maintenance of the HINP, previously exercised by the PTA.
Since the turnover, Braganza took several giant strides to promote the HINP marine park to tourists, domestic and foreign, through the media, which include television, radio, print, and the internet.
The city government established a welcome (tourist assistance) center and parking area and put up an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and marine museum at Lucap wharf, jump off point to the Hundred Islands, with the help of benevolent and private entities.
It had improved the comfort rooms, transferred and re-designed the souvenir shops and refurbished a garden as well as the rehabilitation of the major islands at the national park.
At the same time, it stopped all forms of decades-old illegal fishing practices that destroyed the once healthy habitat of various marine species thriving in the area while, at the same time, providing sustainable and legal form of fishing outside the marine protected area.
The mayor cited statistics showing that the city was averaging for the last five years around 130,000 to 140,000 tourist arrivals yearly, a far cry from 50,000 a year it was raking several years before.
With more facilities already available, the yearly target had been increased to 150,000 or more.
Braganza said the Hundred Islands is not just a haven for tourists but it is where his constituents from 10 coastal villages derive their daily income and protein food for their families.
He revealed that they have to protect the HINP for it to last as a major source of fish. The mayor revealed that for the last six years under his watch, not a single dynamite was exploded inside and outside the national park.
Braganza said illegal fishing is banned in the city’s territorial waters not only because it is prohibited by law but it is definitely wrong that only few are getting richer while marginalized fishermen and marine ecosystem continue to be deprived of fish.
The mayor said that more tourists coming to Alaminos means "more job opportunities and better income "for our city mates”.
He said he envisions the city as the tourism capital of the province and the entire North Luzon Agri-Business Quadrangle considering the fact that the Hundred Islands is the country’s biggest marine sanctuary, the first to be declared national park and "one of a kind eco-tourism destination".
“Today we can say that while many of our guests appreciate the majestic beauty of our national park, majority of Alaminians and stakeholders greatly benefit from it."
Tourism, he said, gave birth to new industries and activities at the Lucap Bay area and at the national park.
Among the major economic and eco-tourism activities that can now be enjoyed in the Hundred Islands are snorkeling, scuba diving, diving, kayaking and birdwatching.
“That is the main reason why our city government and some investors have put up different facilities to lure more tourists to visit our place,” he added.
The mayor said new hotels, apartelles and restaurants have sprouted in the city over the years and that the city government is also building its own two-storey Alaminos Hotel.
This is aimed to provide accommodation to tourists visiting the Hundred Islands so that they will extend their stay in the city.
He said the proposed hotel will have a convention that can accommodate 500 people and guests not only during weekend or holidays but every day regardless of the month.
“We hope to see soon guests, who, after attending conventions, can go to the Hundred Islands to experience an amazing eco-adventure,” he added.
He said new hotel now being erected by the city at Lucap Wharf is expected to bring new jobs and open up new business opportunities for Alaminians.
Three other projects were lined up to perk up tourism in Alaminos City.
These are the Alaminos Airport Development Project, Hundred Islands Medical Services Complex and the Pangasinan State University-Alaminos City Campus.
By Leonardo V. Micua
