Tourists flock to Hundred Islands even during rainy days

ALAMINOS CITY, Aug. 16 (PNA) -- Tourists continue to flock to the Hundred Islands in droves notwithstanding the rainy season.

This was disclosed by Alaminos City Administrator Wilmer Panabang who estimated the daily arrival in the province's number tourist spot to 200 and more than 1,000 during weekends.

In fact, he said, the number of tourist arrivals in the Hundred Islands improved this year as compared to last year and in 2008 and 2009 which were marked by down trend in tourism due to the effects on the industry wrought by Tyhoons "Ondoy" and "Pepeng".

Thus, even during the rainy season, tourists--mostly domestic, are arriving in droves, he added.

The number of foreign tourists arriving has not increased though but there was no downtrend in their number too. Most of the foreign tourists are Koreans and Japanese and a few Americans and Europeans.

Panabang said that more tourists will come to the Hundred Islands if they can cut their travel time in going to Alaminos from Manila which is five hours to only 40 minutes by means of air travel.

This can only be realized, he said, if the Pangasinan Airport, which is now undergoing construction, will soon be completed.

The project, initiated by Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza, has the backing of President Benigno S. Aquino III and Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas.

To date, land acquisition and earth movement are now ongoing at the proposed Pangasinan Airport using initial P200 million released by DOTC.

Panabang said of the amount, P50 million formed the first trance and the second trance amounted to P150 million. All these were used to acquire 80 hectares of land that will form part of the airport's runway of 150 hectares.

"Hopefully, the third trance of another P60 million will be released in the next few weeks, good for another 60 hectares of land to be acquired," Panabang said.

If completed, the Pangasinan airport will first serve domestic tourists and later expanded to an international airport. With a 150-hectare runway, excluding its access roads, the Pangasinan Airport will be bigger than the Laoag International Airport which is only 70 hectares.

He said a foreign investor is also keen on building an 18-hole golf course in Alaminos to complement the airport project. (PNA)

Hundred Islands lure foreign tourists

ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines—The Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City is now a haven for foreign tourists from 68 countries for its majestic beauty and hospitable people, according to the city government.

Top visitors

Citing official records, Mayor Hernani Braganza said Koreans were the top visitors in 2010 with a total of 4,004 arrivals followed by Americans, 1,663; Canadians, 402; Australians, 396; Japanese, 344 and Germans, 316.

‘‘There were even Africans from Kenya and Congo who came and truly enjoyed their stay here,” he added.

Last year, the city hosted a total of 162,653 tourists, of which 9,995 were foreigners.

Tourism capital

The foreign arrivals have made Alaminos Pangasinan’s tourism capital, he said. ‘‘That is victory for the city,” he said.

Rey Livara, park manager, said the place is fast becoming a favorite for picnickers and bird watchers.

In 2005, the Philippine Tourism Authority transferred the management, control and supervision of the Hundred Islands to the city government ensure a sustainable tourism development in the area.

“This was another remarkable feat for all Alaminians who defended the city’s pride from the malicious reports and politically-motivated efforts to destroy the image of the Hundred Islands,” Braganza said.

Safety equals beauty

He said safe travel of local and foreign tourists in the area and preservation of the marine resources have made the Hundred Islands even more attractive as a destination.

He said the Task Force Kalikasan has also wiped out illegal fishing operations in the area.

Forefront

“We can never do anything to tarnish the reputation of the Hundred Islands; neither would we damage its environment. We are always at the forefront of defending this city’s foremost natural resource,” he said.

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Bigger Gali-langoy Eco-Adventure Race this September

Exhilarating and amazing as it was, the Gali-Langoy Eco-Adventure Race will have its second edition not next year but this coming September.

This was promised by Mayor Hernani A. Braganza during the awarding rites of this very successful staging of this unique aqua-triathlon at Lucap Wharf here to the delight of the participants and tourists alike.

"The competition looked too easy for our athletes," said Braganza referring to the island to island swim, island to island parao and island to mainland kayak race which was covered by GMA 7 and ABS-CBN and local radio stations and print media.

“We might just as well make it more competitive and even longer to bring out the best in them,” added the city’s biggest sports fan and enthusiast. 

“Probably a 3-day event will do, a whole day swim relay, another day for parao race and one more day for kayak race from Hundred Islands to the mainland.” 

Braganza said the activity will be this September as the highlight of the celebration of the 6th anniversary of the Hundred Islands turn-over from the Philippine Tourism Authority to the city government of Alaminos.

The mayor, who personally witnessed how exciting the race was and how the eleven teams enjoyed the competition, was surprised how the local tankers finished the 1.41 kilometer swim leg in 37 minutes. 

He also disclosed that after seeing the parao race, local and foreign tourists expressed interest on renting the parao and possibly go fishing outside the marine sanctuary.

Braganza said local fishermen using parao nowadays could easily have an income of P 200 a day from an average of 4 -5 kilos of fish caught.

“If they will have it rented to our guests, they could easily earn P 200 in just an hour," he explained.

“And this will basically be another livelihood opportunity for our people aside from the kayaking industry which is now flourishing in our city. We wanted the Hundred Islands to be bigger than Burnham Park from our sister city - Baguio and ultimately be known as the kayaking capital of the country".

Team Telbang 2 which dominated the swimming competition is this year’s champion with Team Lucap 1 and Team Telbang finishing the second and third place, respectively.

Ryan Gutierez easily claimed the Lopez to Quezon swim leg and submitted a 5.52 mins., Nelson Casipit ( 23.09 mins.) ruled the Quezon to Clave Islands leg and Aldrin Gutierrez (18.85 mins) won the Clave to Children Island leg.

In parao race, Team Lucap 1 reigned supreme and the winning pairs were Ronnie Alcartado/Roger Abrocio, (18.85mins), Rey Villena/JR Donato (13.28 mins) and Joeny Navarro Jr./Dendo Villena (19.09mins).

The duo of Alcartado and Abrocio also topped the Governor Island to Lucap wharf kayak race which clocked 28.06 mins.

Top three teams in the First Gali-Langoy Eco-Adventure Race received especially designed e-kawayan trophies, medals and cash prizes amounting to  P 30, 000, P 20, 000 and P10, 000 for the first, second and third placers respectively.

Leg winners also received P 3, 000 pesos each while the top finishers in the grueling Quezon to Clave Islands and Clave to Children Island swim legs got P 5, 000 each.

Non winning teams also received a P 3,000 consolation prize.

Mayor Braganza personally handed the prizes to the race winners.Joining him during the awarding rites were Vice Mayor Cesar Manzano, city councilors Earl James Aquino and Margielou Orange Humilde, Jose Elvis Sison, Gali-langoy chairman; ACPO Chief- Col. Rollie Saltat, vice chairman; and Ernesto Sarmiento, race director.

In separate interviews with Pangasinan media and ABS-CBN North Central Luzon and GMA 7, Braganza thanked the organizers, sponsors and the participations for the successful staging of this one of a kind eco-sports adventure.

He cited that Gali-langoy is another program of our city government aimed at promoting not just the majestic beauty of the Hundred Islands National Park but also the Alaminians’ innate talent in swimming and sheer endurance in eco-adventure sports, stressed the mayor.

“This event is one of the highlights of this year’s celebration of our Pista’y Dayat (Sea Festival) that includes the thanks-giving mass, iguhit mo ang yaman ng hundred islands (pantalan art painting),the nightly concert at the wharf and highly anticipated fireworks display and the MOA signing on the crafting of short courses in our city,” he said.

“Through Gali-langoy, we are also promoting these low impact environment friendly activities in order to protect the natural habitat and breeding ground of hundreds of marine species that now thrive in our park,” he stressed.

One that will further ensure a healthier and bountiful protein bowl for Alaminians and the Pangasinenses in general.

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73,000 tourists flock to Hundred Islands from Jan-April

MANILA, Philippines – Tourism in the Hundred Islands National Park had a flourishing turnout in the early months of 2011 with thousands of tourists flocking to the place for their holiday getaway.

According to the local government, 73,000 tourists visited the main attraction of Alaminos, Pangasinan from the months of January to April this year.

More tourists also spent their Holy Week vacation in the park this year at 12,195, as compared to last year’s record of 10,560.

The increase is attributed to the new outdoor activities offered by the park.

Aside from swimming, the park also offers snorkeling, scuba diving, and bird watching.

The Hundred Islands National Park is also promoting island-hopping for adventure seekers, with rates being offered as low as P800.

Delighted by the turnout, park manager Rey Livara said: "Natutuwa kami na marami pa rin ang dumaragsa dito."

The local government remains keen on attracting more and more tourists in the coming months.

Tourism has been a boon for the business sector particularly those in the hotel, restaurant and souvenirs services, Livara said.

Vendor Anita Baniqued added: "Madami talaga ngayong (turista)… kaya kami naman nakakaipon na din para sa pamilya." 

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Former world champ joins Alaminos shootfest

ALAMINOS CITY—Former World Shoot champion Jeufro “Jag” Lejano led more than 100 practical shooters from different North and Central Luzon gun clubs, which saw action in the Alaminos Gali-La Festival Shootfest recently at the Hundred Islands Practical Shooters Association firing range at Barangay Sabangan here.

Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza fired the ceremonial shot to formally open the competition and welcome the participants, which included Lejano, the 2005 International Practical Shooting Confederation champion in the modified division.

The two-day shootfest was a Level II event sanctioned by the Philippine Practical Shooting Association, the first to be staged in this city.

The shootfest featured four major divisions, namely, standard, production, open and modified. There were other minor categories—standard single stack, lawman production and standard, lady open, junior standard, senior standard and production and LGU standard and production.

Lejano went on to stamp his class in the production division; Bogs Resuello emerged standard division champion; Enrique Cheesman topped the open division, while Roy Rondilla was best in the modified class.

According to Braganza, an avid practical shooter, whose son Lean was a former teammate of Lejano in the Philippine team, the shootfest was part of the celebrations for the seventh year of the Gali-La Viva San Jose Festival of the Hundred Islands held in honor of the city’s patron saint, St. Joseph.

Alex Ang, HIPSA president, said the shootfest will be among the regular events that would be included in the annual celebration of the Festival of the Hundred Islands. He added that HIPSA will also conduct monthly shoots and regular training for young practical shooters.

“Hopefully by next year, we will have a Level III sanctioned match, which means 10 grueling shooting stages instead of seven which we have right now,” said Ang, who is also the concurrent president of Western Pangasinan Chamber of Commerce.

“This is our commitment to the Braganza administration’s sports tourism thrust. It’s our way of helping promote Alaminos as sports tourism center of Region 1,” he said further.

Braganza thanked and congratulated the HIPSA headed by Ang, match director Jerry Mateo and Engr. Roland Ranches, owner of the land where the firing range is located, for organizing the event and reminding the gun owners of their responsibilities to the society.

He also extended gratitude to the PPSA and the National Range Officers Institute for supporting the event.

“Through this firing range and this event that we held, we are again promoting our Hundred Islands National Park not just to our regular tourists, but also to all the gun enthusiasts in the country,” Braganza said.

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Baraan: Why are the fishponds there?

LINGAYEN—“The issue is why are there fishponds in the Hundred Islands”.
This was stressed by Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, reacting to the outburst of Mayor Hernani Braganza on the issues raised by officials of the provincial government about the Hundred Islands.
“The issue here is why are there fishponds in the area. Whether these structures are old or new, the fact remains that they are still existing expansively in the area,” Baraan said in a press conference Thursday afternoon.

“What is worse is they used corals to construct dikes in some areas. This is a mortal sin,” said Baraan, who was joined by Task Force Kalikasan chief Paterno Orduna and Provincial Information Officer Butch Velasco in the press conference.

BARAAN

Baraan expressed dismay over the reaction of Braganza on the issue, which, he said, cropped up when the KBP invited Task Force Kalikasan for the update on the massive coastal and river clean-up in Pangasinan.
TFK Deputy Head Tomas Cabigas presented at the forum blow-up aerial photos of the Hundred Islands indicating dike embankments of supposed fishponds
.
Orduna admitted in that press conference that the photos given to him by a Pakistani piloting one of the trainer planes landing at the Lingayen Airport and were presented at the KBP forum without intent of any malice.
“Rather than facing the issue squarely, Mayor Hernani Braganza dared Governor Amado Espino Jr.  and First District Congressman Jesus ‘Boying’ Celeste to issue a public apology for allegedly giving false statements” on the Hundred Islands issue.


Capitol did not issue any apology and instead brought out more issues about the Hundred Islands.
Meanwhile, the governor has not reacted beyond saying he wanted the issue investigated.
In that press conference, Orduna asked on what Braganza did on the Bolodeco issue when he was Agrarian Reform Secretary.


The other issues that boggles the mind, said Baraan, is the fact that the Bolo Development Corporation (Bolodeco) was granted Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) No.92927 last January 1993 despite the issuance of then President Corazon Aquino of an Executive Order on February 18,1992 that excluded national parks and other protected areas from land distribution.


In addition, then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1173 in 1977 abrogating all leases and cancelling land titles and patents covering portions of the Hundred Islands National Park.”
He said then PNP Regional Director Amado Espino recommended to then President Ramos the cancellation of the CLOA issued to Bolodeco, citing the negative environmental effects of the fishponds in the area. The President approved the request and then Director then Secretary Ernesto Garilao and Energy Secretary Francisco Viray to institute cancellation proceedings.


In 1999 or six years after the issuance of CLOA, a petition was filed with the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) at Lingayen, Pangasinan for the cancellation of the CLOA.
Baraan accused DARAB of sleeping on its job because no decision has yet been issued by it while the case has been up for resolution in that body since February 1, 2000, or more than 10 years ago.
“What is keeping DARAB from resolving the case?” Baraan asked.


At the same time, Baraan said that the expose’ of Congressman Celeste that there are other private individuals who have bigger fishponds at the Hundred Islands than Boledeco is worth looking into, especially because three of the big time fishpond operators are Braganzas.
Baraan said the general principle is, all the islands clustered around the area are parts of the Hundred Islands. He said that if the fishponds are within the islands, most likely they must be part of the National Park.


Repost from the Sunday Punch

Gov’t agencies accused of sleeping on their job for Hundred Islands

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Nov. 13 —Different government agencies that have oversight function over the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) have been accused of sleeping on their job in the face of continuing existence of a 47-hectare fishpond right in the heart of the reservation area.

“Either some government agencies are doing something against the law or they are not doing their job or sleeping on their job,” said Pangasinan Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan in a press conference on the Hundred Islands issue on Thursday.
The fishpond is owned by the Bolo Development Cooperative (Boledeco), a group of more than 200 fish farmers who petitioned and were granted Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) by the Department of Agrarian Reform in 1993.
Baraan said that the Alaminos City government took over the jurisdiction of the Hundred Islands from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) by virtue of Executive Order 436 issued by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 21, 2005.
He said that the city of Alaminos had nothing to do with the construction of the fishpond structure as these were built long before it took over the islands from PTA.
Records showed that the 47-hectare fishpond was segragated from the the national park in favor of the DAR during the administration of the PTA and which conveyed the same to Bolodeco by issuing CLOA to the same.
Considering that there are government agencies having an oversight function over the national park, Baraan wondered what these entities may have done when they saw the fishpond rising as they know this was already inconsistent with the current uses of the place as tourist spot.
He singled out the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which, by virtue of the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS), has regulatory control of the HINP, especially on matters which pertain to protected areas.
Baraan asked: How come that over a period of years this structure is still there, how come it is still operated and how come this become improved more than before?
Mayor Hernani Braganza of Alaminos City told newsmen there was a time some DENR officials were selling some fore shore lands of the HINP, near the Lucao wharf, to private individuals although the same was not yet segregated from the park and proclaimed alienable and disposable.
At the same time, Baraan chided the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) where a case seeking the revocation of the CLOA issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Bolodeco had been filed since 1999.
But sadly, he said, DARAB has not issued any decision on the matter despite the fact that the body, which is a special court for settling agrarian dispute, terminated the hearing case way back in February 2000.
“DARAB is already sleeping on this case. . There is no reason for it (DARAB) to allow this thing to remain hanging, Baraan said in that press conference also attended by Provincial Information Officer Orpheus Velasco and Paterno Orduna, head of the province’s Task Force Kalikasan.
Asked on what the provincial government can do to facilitate the decision of the case since the parties already ended presenting their evidence way back 10 years ago, he said Governor Amado Espino Jr. may write the DAR to demand and early resolution of the case.
DARAB is under the supervision of the Department of Agrarian Reform where the three-term Mayor of Alaminos City (Braganza) was once a secretary but said he adopted a hands-off policy on the issue at that time, lest he be accused of being biased since he is from Alaminos.
“We all know that the case was submitted for decision 10 years ago and there is no reason that DARAB has not resolved or cannot make a decision on the matter,” he said.
Baraan said that the issues on the Hundred Islands just surfaced when provincial officials came across aerial photos of the Hundred Islands taken by a Palistani student pilot whose plane was landing regularly in the Lingayen Airport.
But somebody should act so that all unanswered questions about the Hundred Islands could be answered, adding that this was actually what the provincial government did. (PNA) RMA/Lvm/lvmicua/rma/jsd

Source

Prov’l. government is after Hundred Islands’ management

"It’s a deliberate attempt to get the Hundred Islands from us, nothing more nothing less."
This was the strongly worded statement of Alaminos City Mayor Hernani A. Braganza during a press conference held yesterday at Island Tropics Hotel in Lucap Bay Area here overlooking the majestic Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) which became the center of irresponsible expose made by the provincial government.

Braganza cried foul over the issue that city’s icon has been vandalized and that the fishponds were illegally constructed within the national park and allegedly the cause of unpleasant smell in the area.

“This is unfortunate and irresponsible,” stressed the former two term first district congressman who in his first term led the dismantling of fish pens, fish cages and fishponds in the Hundred Islands.

“We are saddened by these negative reports because we are doing all our best to promote and protect our national park,” he continued.

“What really is the intention of this picture?,” asked the mayor as he shows an aerial photo of the park which includes the Bolo Development Cooperative (Bolodeco) area.

“Is it really to expose an old problem in the national park? Or to get from Alaminos the management of the Hundred Islands?”

The said photo entitled ‘Hundred Islands Vandalized’ and was published in a local newspaper and uploaded in website appears to be either old or digitally enhanced.

This had sparked an outrage from the city’s tourism sector and local residents that have directly benefitted from the booming tourism industry for more than five years now.

Bolodeco is a cooperative organized by local fisherman in the city in 1980 with the purpose of developing a swampy mangrove area within the park into fishpond.

A 45-hectare area which was originally part of the Hundred Islands was leased to the group during the Marcos regime.

During the time of the late President Corazon Aquino, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has granted certificate of land ownership agreement (CLOA) to the 221 members of the cooperative.

Former President Fidel Ramos then authorized the issuance of the original certificates of transfer to Bolodeco which said to have been registered with the Registry of Deeds of the province.

It was learned though that there’s still pending petition of PTA at the DAR’s adjudication board (DARAB) on the nullification of the Bolodeco’s CLOA.

Braganza said “we could probably accept if the title of the photo should have been “Hundred Islands vandalized 20 years ago”.

“But the implication is that we did it during our time which is totally unacceptable, unfair and incorrect,” added the concurrent secretary general of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

The mayor believed Governor Amado Espino was definitely misinformed by his allies that there are illegal structures within our 1,844 hectare marine sanctuary and that the dikes in the Bolodeco were made of corrals.

“There is only one big fishpond in the Hundred Islands and this is owned by Bolodeco. All other fishponds which could be seen along the shorelines are part of the city’s mainland,” he said.

In a recent interview, Congressman Boying Celeste, claimed that aside from the fishponds inside the Bolodeco area, there are some private individuals who own and operate fishponds within the Hundred Islands.

The allegation was declared by the mayor as a blatant lie citing that the fishponds that the solon had mentioned are actually located at the mainland.

The incumbent legislator is the elder brother of Arthur Celeste, a former congressman whom Braganza had beaten in the recent mayoralty race here.

The younger Celeste was the main proponent of House Bill 4995, which seeks to reclassify a certain portion of the HINP and shall be awarded to private individuals including his relatives for them to venture on tourism related industry.

Fortunately, Braganza learned about these evil motives of some greedy politicians from his friends in Congress and concerned private entities and succeeded in blocking the said bill.

Proving his critics wrong and to clear the issue once and for all, the hardworking mayor personally toured the members of Pangasinan media to the Bolodeco area and around the province’s premier eco-tourism destination.

The mediamen actually set foot on the dikes that were constructed using limestone taken from the mountains and mangrove roots, as explained by newly elected Pandan Barangay Captain Ricardo Legaspi, and not from corals as alleged in the previous reports published in the papers.

Regaspi, who was among those who first built the dikes, said they never used corals because it is illegal and second it floats in the water and can easily be crumbled.

Most of the dikes were already eroded and destroyed by previous typhoons that hit the city. Thus, they could not see an operational fishpond within the Bolodeco area.

Also, contrary to the governor’s statement in an interview with a local TV station that the area is emitting foul smell posing danger to the residents and tourists’ health and the marine environment, the media practioneers instead enjoyed the refreshing sea breeze.

And so, as soon as they left the Bolodeco area to visit the famous Governor’s Island and pass the breeding station and mariculture center of BFAR at the national park, the media group already knew who were really lying.

Certainly, not Mayor Braganza who had done everything to get back the Hundred Islands from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) in 2005 in order to fully conserve, protect, and rehabilitate this God given gift to Pangasinenses.

And definitely not the city government with its sustained tourism promotion and major improvement in the park had lured an average of 150, 000 local and foreign tourists a year on visiting the Hundred Islands and the province of Pangasinan.

As one of the media practioneers said, it seems that Braganza administration is just being politicized by the provincial government in retaliation to the mayor’s stand against illegal numbers games and Governor Amado Espino shotgun project.

There’s likewise the sinister plot to destroy the image of the visionary city mayor and the glaring attempt of provincial government to take over the management of the park, another media man hinted.

When told that the provincial government had already asked the DOT, DENR and PTA to investigate on the Bolodeco issue, Braganza’s reply was quick.

“We welcome any probe. I’m also inviting our good governor and our congressman to visit us so that we could conduct an ocular inspection in the area together.”
After all, there’s nothing wrong in the HINP and that the City government has nothing to hide.

And therefore, Gov. Espino and Cong.Celeste should start asking for the Alaminians’ forgiveness for their false and irresponsible statements that affected the city and the province’s tourism industry. (CIO)


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Alaminos City, now certified tourism center in Pangasinan

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