A right way and a wrong way

DAET, Camarines Norte – There is a Right way and a Wrong way of doing things. The Wrong way is to charge head long into an investment or a program without asking or learning from the experience, knowledge and especially the mistakes of others. The Right way is to follow a successful business model that is sustainable and managed by experts and people with or in authority.

For more than a year my youngest brother Ricky has been talking to me about the tourism potentials of an island off Daet called “Calaguas.” He was so convinced on the idea that he showed me the location map and gave me a description of the place. Ricky felt that since I had already  built two resorts in northern Palawan namely “Club Paradise” (which has now transformed into Discovery Paradise) and another private island resort, my brother thought I could get some investors to take a look see and help him and his friends jump start the project.

Right off the bat I told Ricky that judging from the location and description, Calaguas was one of those potential destinations that was a bit of a challenge both logistically and travel wise. Flying from Manila to Naga City then driving to Daet, Camarines Norte for about two hours then taking a 1.5-hour boat ride presented a bit of a challenge. I finally took the trip and the experience provided me a lot of insight and ideas on the wrong way for government and private sector to do things.

The PAL flight from Manila to Naga was on time and hassle free but the two-hour ride on winding roads would surely make some travellers carsick. It made me wonder: why there were no flights to Daet considering there is an airport here and there used to be flights to this town? If government builds and maintains provincial airports, the aviation authorities should insist or require airlines to provide at least one flight a week to such airports to service passengers and help develop various economies particularly tourism.

I understand the profit concerns of airlines but often times the airline end up deciding the future of airports and tourism instead of helping develop such places.

Before setting sail for Calaguas Island we were informed that there would be no cellphone signal in the area. That was enough reason for some business people to back out of the trip. Once again the curse of selective investments on cell sites by telcos place a damper on tourism and business development outside Metro Manila. We eventually discovered that if you took a 15-minute hike and paid a P20 entrance fee you could possibly catch fleeting signals from the mainland but only if you were using Myphone, Wawei or none smart phone. This is not the first time I’ve heard of this failure of advance technology.

Upon reaching the island it became apparent that there would be no porters, no welcome committee, no welcome drinks, not even a front desk! Investors on the two “resorts” we checked out spent a lot of money on BASIC “Cabanas” and huts that were exorbitantly priced at P8,000 to P8,500 (none aircon). Second discovery was you are expected to bring your own food, forget any expectations about industry standard accommodations, beddings etc. What you see is what you get and you won’t see much. We basically had to manage things by getting runners to buy up whatever was available.

Thanks to this back to nature experience with untrained fisher folks sidelining as resort staff and really bad set up, I now come up with the suggestion to the Department of Tourism, Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that no investor, developer or company should be given an EEC clearance, no building permit, no business permit until the direct owner/ developer and their management staff undergo a familiarization training or seminar on the requirements and standards for building and operating resorts or tourist related facilities.

I found it sad that the owners of developments on Calaguas Island did not even invest on the clothes and training of the people working for them, did not invest on basic transportation such as pedal driven or motorized tricycles for their staff to be able to get supplies or food for guests in a barrio about a kilometer away.  I was also very alarmed that the locals had started to dump their accumulated garbage in an open dump right behind the resorts. Then there is the issue of ample police protection for tourists. I can’t fault authorities for the oversight since Calaguas is admittedly quite far by boat, but it is a beautiful place reminiscent of Boracay in the early days. The beach and the waters around Calaguas were simply perfect although boatloads of overnight tourists have essentially been flocking to this Paradise.

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Good news travels far especially when leaders do things the right way and gain honor and recognition for the Philippines.

I recently received word all the way from Peru, from one of my former students at the Development Academy Amy Ortiz of the DENR that the province of Albay has been granted the status of UNESCO Biosphere reserve at the 28th session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and Biosphere program of UNESCO held in Lima, Peru.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda personally accepted the recognition and thanked the council for the recognition while informing the participants that terrestrial and marine buffer zones in Albay have been increased from 35,000 hectares to over 131,000 hectares, while protective measures have been put in place for spawning grounds of endangered sea turtles. Albay is the first UNESCO Biosphere reserve for Luzon and is the third in the Philippines following after Puerto Galera and Palawan.

As a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Albay becomes one of 670 sites in 120 countries that contribute to the protection of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources. Congratulations to Governor Salceda, the DENR and especially to the people of Albay for doing things the right way.

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