Putting Palawan back on the tourism map

(The Philippine Star)

All eyes are on Palawan, our version of paradise, dragged suddenly and unexpectedly into a national security nightmare.

While most have grown skeptical about the prospects of tourism in the country, if not the province of Palawan, those in positions of leadership cannot afford the luxury of skepticism

Even in crisis, opportunities abound. Palawan is richly blessed with natural, mineral, marine and aquatic resources. The biodiversity of the province still promises to put it at the forefront of ecotourism. There is the promise of Palawan’s off-shore gas reserves – estimated anywhere between 2.2 to 2.4 trillion cubic feet while an undetermined amount of oil awaits extraction. Still there is the stigma of the Dos Palmas incident — an unfolding drama with no end in sight.

In the thick of things is Palawan’s new Governor, Joel Reyes, who is undaunted by recent events and remains bullish about his province. Eager to return to business as usual, Gov. Reyes has convinced President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to visit Palawan for the Paragatan festival and to hold the first out-of-town Cabinet meeting at the Dos Palmas resort. Ask the governor about the growth of tourism in Palawan and he will boldly tell you, that Palawan’s beauty speaks for itself, tourists will discover the beauty and pass the word around. Tourism development, in his view, must be preceded by infrastructure development. And those who invest in Palawan, at least during his term must be environment-friendly investors.

The new governor hails from the town of Coron where both his grandfather and father served as mayor. Following the family tradition, Joel Reyes entered politics in 1998 when he was elected provincial board member. After one term he ran for vice governor in 1992 and won by an overwhelming majority. He has since received recognition for his leadership on both the local and national fronts. He became an adopted son of the municipalities of San Vicente and Narra. He was a recipient of the Red Feather Award from the Provincial Board Members Association of the Philippines. More recently, he was named the Most Outstanding Vice Governor of the Philippines.

As the hostage crisis continues one cannot help but wonder how long Palawan itself can be held hostage to larger political events. After all, these islands have long served as a showcase for what is truly remarkable about the Philippines. The ancient Chinese traders once called it "Palao-yu," the land of beautiful harbors.

Preserving our heritage, and striving for economic growth in a climate of political uncertainty calls for dynamic and decisive leadership.

Is Joel Reyes up to the job? 

The Philippine STAR: In talking about your vision for Palawan, you said, "We are striving for a harmonious balance between economic growth and the enhancement of the environment…. What others never thought of doing, we can still do." In concrete terms, what does that mean?

Joel Reyes: In concrete terms, it means we can still do things and learn from the mistakes of other provinces which is the overcommercialism of attracting tourists to various provinces. Even if we wanted to advertise and welcome tourists to the province right now, we want select tourists. We are gearing towards upscale tourists. I say we have to learn from the mistakes of others, because out of the 77 provinces in the country, Palawan remains the only province that is the most pristine and we want it to remain that way. Palawan is unique in a way because it is the only province whose environment is protected by special laws – Republic Act 7611 or the Strategic Environment Plan. We have a Palawan Council for Sustainable Development that is in charge of environment protection of the province which none of the other provinces have… where the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is in charge. 

Following the kidnapping at Dos Palmas, what efforts or plans are being undertaken to put Palawan back in the forefront of tourism? 

Well, first of all let me say that this was an isolated incident. Before this kidnapping incident, in the province of Palawan, you’d never hear of complaints, either from domestic tourists or foreign tourists, that they were mugged or accosted or even raped or things that may normally happen in other parts of the Philippines. So, what I am trying to say is it was an isolated incident and we hope and pray that it won’t happen again. We were caught off-guard because of the isolation of the province of Palawan. I guess the resort owners, including government, took it for granted that we were out of the reach for this kind of bandits. However, we are going to fight back and we have started fighting back. Immediately after the kidnapping case, we called for a meeting with the resort owners of the province of Palawan through the Palawan Tourism Council. And we have requested them to augment their security arrangements and government has also augmented that. On top of this, the provincial government has allocated the necessary amount of money to assist in the deployment of not only the intelligence network but the military presence. We have also met several times in Manila with the travel agents who are not only selling our country but the province of Palawan, to assure them of their safety here. To top it all, I was able to convince President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not only to visit Palawan, but to attend the annual celebration of the founding of the civil government of Palawan which we call Paragatan. This is the meeting of the different municipalities and it is like a cultural festival of the city of Puerto Princesa – not only to grace the occasion but in particular to bring her cabinet here, in particular the city of Puerto Princesa, at Dos Palmas Resort Hotel. This will assure the rest of the country if not the world that the President of the Republic of the Philippines believes in the prospects of tourism. 

Secretary Gordon has said that the Department of Tourism does not have enough resources for all the demands that tourism development entails. He has said that the LGUs must step in and do their share to promote their provinces. What plans do you have for your province in terms of promoting it regionally and beyond? What is your over-all vision for Palawan? 

At present, figures will show that the province of Palawan has more or less an annual tourist arrival of 140,000 a year. I still believe that the best promotion and marketing tool is by word of mouth because no PR firm or advertisement can be as good as, or can compare with firsthand experience – meaning those who have already visited the province of Palawan. We don’t really want to go promoting the orovince of Palawan on a worldwide basis because at present, we are not yet ready to really accept the influx of tourism. Yes, we have the presence of worldclass or renowned resort hotels. But they can only accommodate limited guests in their respective resorts. So there is really no need to advertise because we want to choose our guests. In fact, it is more of an honor to potential tourists for them to discover Palawan. 

What about, the growth of tourism – the potential for more tourists and infrastructure development? 

It will happen because as you know the province of Palawan will be the richest province in the country in the next few years because of its share from the gas exploration. By that time we would have already set the basic services, the basic infrastructure projects, the basic communication system so that we can put in place the needed infrastructure projects that would support businesses and in particular, the hotel resort business. And that would be the time, I think, that we can open up the province of Palawan to mass tourism. But at present, we can only accommodate so much and there’s just going to be a few lucky ones that can visit the province of Palawan. 

Are you harnessing the efforts of the private sector in infrastructure development?

Yes. We have to qualify that. There are projects that are private sector-assisted. But most infrastructure projects are government-assisted. Be it national, local, or foreign-assisted. So we are trying to welcome any assistance possible. But as I have mentioned, Palawan will be able to start on its own because as soon as we start receiving our share from the natural wealth then we can start developing the province of Palawan and later on, helping the Philippine Economy. 

How can you protect your province from future kidnappings of tourists by rebel and adventurist groups? What security measures are being put in place? 

I would be lying if I say that this incident will not happen again in my province. I guess there is no place in the world that can be safe from a determined superior force of terrorists. And the province of Palawan is not exempted from this. But we have taken precautions. And I still think that the best defense in any of this is deterrence. So we have set up the necessary deterrents which I cannot divulge now. But what I can say is in cooperation with national government agencies and the stakeholders. We, in the province of Palawan have already done what needs to be done as far as protection of our tourists are concerned. 

Are you working with the US government now? Are they cooperating to help deter possible terrorist attacks? Are they working with you, or consulting with you, or lending their technological know-how, or are you not allowed to divulge that? 

No, I have no direct communication with the US government. 

How would you attract investors in the future? 

We are attracting investors now. I guess we are very discriminating not only with our tourists but also with our potential investors. Because we don’t welcome just any kind of investor. The investment that they are going to make in the province of Palawan at least in my term, must be environmentally friendly. Second, it is a lure for local and foreign investors to be able to come to the province of Palawan because there is so much to see. It is the only province that has remained forest covered. We still have our marine resources. There is so much potential that you cannot find in other provinces. Palawan is not called the "last frontier" for nothing. 

Are you not concerned that it is so close to Basilan, Jolo — hot-beds of political unrest? 

On the contrary, that can be an asset to the province of Palawan. Soon, we are going to have an international airport Puerto Princesa. We can have direct points from Hongkong, Japan, Vietnam and the rest of the Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, etc. We could be the backdoor to the Southeast Asian countries. And I don’t look at it as a liability being close to these areas. I look at it as an advantage. As I mentioned, practically and generally, our neighbors in the Southern Philippines are good people. This unfortunate incident is really an isolated case. 

Former Mayor Hagedorn is contesting the results of the last elections. Would you like to comment? 

Well, it seems to be a Filipino custom now that the losing candidates claim that they were cheated. Last election we were very consistent. Even the independent surveys conducted months before the elections consistently showed, in a three-way fight against Mayor Hagedorn and Deputy Speaker Abueg, that I was way ahead of the pack. So I was not surprised. My supporters were not surprised. I guess only those people living outside the province of Palawan were surprised at the outcome of the elections because of their perception that certain candidates are unbeatable. But the people of Palawan have spoken. 

What about those incidents where there were sporadic brownouts in key municipalities in Palawan last May 14? 

I don’t really want to say that this was somehow connected with the elections. I guess that would be unfair to the power company. But we were prepared. Voters were prepared. We had lots of generators. We had boxes of flashlights. We had candles. So, when there was a brownout, all sides were prepared. So if there was a complaint, they should be complaining to the Commission of Elections. Because indeed all sides were affected when the voters’ list was disenfranchised. A lot of voters were not able to vote. This happened not only to our supporters but also to supporters of different camps. So I guess to sum it all, I would advise my political opponents to refrain from giving misleading statements. After all, the people of Palawan has spoken. Let us respect the mandate of the people and let us all sit down together at one table and plan ahead for the development of the province of Palawan. We have the same objectives. Let us now integrate all these visions and dreams for the province of Palawan. 

What about the checks that were circulating? The checks purportedly distributed by Mayor Hagedorn’s headquarters to his supporters which turned out to be fake. There was an eyewitness who said that those fake checks were circulated by someone in your campaign. 

Again, I deny that. I vehemently deny that. We are not capable of these things. In fact, during the campaign I had been a target of so much black propaganda not only locally but also in the national newspapers. I deny being part of any such schemes. 

Any parting shots? 

It was not an easy victory for myself because along the way I lost a lot of friends including my mother. And so I dedicate the next two years of my term in the memory of those who have perished in trying to serve the people and the province of Palawan.

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