When the current Tourism Act was being discussed by Congress, there was the assumption that tourism as an industry should be privately driven. Government’s role was to provide assistance by way of international promotions, tax incentives, and some amount of regulation to protect our visitors.
The law created a Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) to help entrepreneurs who want to invest in the industry. The Tourism Act supports the establishment of Tourism Enterprise Zones (TEZs) to promote tourism growth in the country.
TIEZA is financed by the travel tax we pay when we buy an international plane ticket. It is belatedly doing what it should have done in Boracay years past. But I don’t think TIEZA officials have a good idea of what they are really supposed to do to make a difference.
I thought of TIEZA and TEZs while I was going around Balesin Island over the weekend. This is an island half the size of Boracay and totally owned and controlled by one private entity. Its masterplan was professionally designed by EcoPlan of Florida, and you can feel and see the difference.
I am not proposing that Balesin should get tax perks. It is an exclusive club for the use only of its members and guests. Let the rich pay for their playground.
But I want to cite Balesin as a good example of how we should develop promising islands as tourist destinations with proper planning. This is how Boracay should have developed decades ago. Boracay should have been a TEZ independent of clueless local officials.
I concede it is not as easy for government to do what Bobby Ongpin did with Balesin. Bobby had a good idea of what he wanted, he hired the experts who can help him bring that vision to reality and what Bobby wanted, Bobby got. His company owns the entire island.
Any government official, no matter how well intentioned, is subject to the influence and bullying of political forces. It took a President Duterte to say enough is enough and Boracay must close down, clean up and get fixed.
But any TIEZA head or even tourism secretary should spend a day at Balesin touring the various developments. They should listen to Mr. Ongpin as he shares his vision and experiences. At the very least, they will be inspired to see that the Filipino can bring about such a world class tourism island into reality.
The first thing that you will notice in Balesin is the lush vegetation. Mr Ongpin told me he wants to keep it that way. The island is probably still about 90 percent forest. The developments, including a night rated airport that can take an ATR, are just occupying about 10 percent of the land. Balesin is only a 30 minute flight from Manila.
Balesin produces a lot of its own food. They grow their own vegetables and they harvest more bananas than they can use, making it necessary to sell the rest in the mainland. I saw the pond where they grow the sea bass and the crabs served in the island’s restaurants.
The original fishing community supplies the other fish requirements. They are also happy that Balesin management has been successful in stopping all dynamite and cyanide fishing. The corals are coming back to life to the delight of scuba divers.
Mr. Ongpin is also a big supporter of local craftsmen. He relocated a good number of Ifugao wood carvers who do all the interior decoration requirements that call for such art. They have their own village within the island.
The most basic thing Mr. Ongpin did on day one was to ensure a proper sewage system. They have zero sewage discharge, thanks to their investment in a state of the art central sewage treatment plant.
Balesin has no fresh ground water, so they collect rainwater. The runway of the airport has water catchment canals running all along the perimeter that channel the rainwater runoff to storage lagoons. They are always expanding their water collection system. Every roof of every structure has its own rainwater collection system.
They now have a total storage capacity of 130,000 cubic meters in five storage ponds. Even at the height of summer, they still have 68,000 cubic meters of water. With an average consumption of 400 cubic meters a day, this is good for half a year without a single drop of rain.
Used water is processed in modular sewage treatment plants, producing Class A grey water, used for the island’s lush landscaping during the summer months. The island is now self sufficient in water without having to use a desalination facility that is on standby.
Balesin is beautiful, but I think it is overbuilt to serve only about 2,000 members. But Mr. Ongpin said they are cash flow positive. Indeed, he is now thinking of what to do next.
What Mr. Ongpin wants to do is develop the nearby island of Patnanungan. It is about one and a half the size of Balesin. He wants to develop this island for international tourism, with its own international airport. He wants to bypass the airport congestion of NAIA. EcoPlan of Florida is now working on the initial plans.
Balesin and Patnanungan islands are on the Pacific side, away from international shipping lanes. That means clean beaches. A lot of trash is washed ashore on the West side of Luzon.
One other thing I noticed is that after heavy rains Saturday evening, they were fixing the roads even before the sun was really out on Sunday morning.
Bobby Ongpin had always been a tough taskmaster. But he has attracted a following of adoring employees who joined him in Balesin from Tagaytay Highlands. It makes me think Filipinos will thrive under tough leadership, but only if they can respect him.
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.