SALVADOR Benedicto Mayor Marxlen de la Cruz was thankful to Abang-Lingkod party-list Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano and First District Representative Melecio Yap Jr. for working over the passage of a substitute bill on House Bill Numbers 1361 and 2162 that declared the municipal township.
“I am very hopeful that this effort will be sustained until it reaches the Senate for its final nod. We have been dreaming about this,” he said.
De la Cruz’s father, the late Mayor Nehemias de la Cruz, is the founder of Salvador Benedicto.
The town is known as the summer capital of Negros Occidental due to its natural sceneries and climate.
De la Cruz will soon meet with the Local Tourism Development Council to map out plans on how to strengthen their tourism plans and programs now that Salvador Benedicto is going at its peak to the extent as tourism is concerned.
There are many resorts, cafes, and other tourist destinations at the town and people loved to come to here every day to enjoy the sceneries, and cool climate given the humid and hot weather in the province, the mayor said.
He said that they want to create linkages with the tour operators, café, and resorts owners for them to have coordinated tourism initiatives that will further uplift the town and its people.
There is low end to middle and to high-class resorts in the town of Salvador Benedicto, and the local government wants to set the direction that will bring a common benefit to all the stakeholders, he said.
He also said that the residents are very hospitable and were doing an extra mile when they see guests and visitors coming to the town.
“We have the best brewed coffee, Bisaya nga manok and other delicacies,” he said.
He is also working on the establishment of a water district in their town to also ensure the supply of potable water in the town.
“We source our water from the spring. Healthwise, we want to make sure that the water being consumed by our people, and also our guests are indeed potable and safe for drinking,” he said.
The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) has committed to conduct a feasibility study on the matter which is free of charge, he said.
We are continuously improving, from our roads, water, among others. We also would want the concerned government agencies to enforce strictly the environmental laws, the mayor said.