Pinoys urged to take a vacation

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo encouraged everyone, especially the Filipinos, to take advantage of the summer season that started early in the country due to the El Nino dry spell, by going on vacation and supporting the beach and marine tourism.

Arroyo, during a media night she hosted at the Misbis Bay Raintree Resort in Barangay Misibis in Cagraray Island in Bacacay town, said domestic tourism has contributed a lot to the country’s growth and in keeping the country afloat at the height of the global recession and she has to sustain this.

The President said the public should take advantage of the holiday economics or long weekends that are usually observed days before a national holiday, by spending time vacationing or going sightseeing and the like.

Arroyo said she is partial to the beach and diving tourism preferring the diving sites of Tubattaha reefs in Palawan, the Bual-Bual in Cebu, and Anilao in Batangas.

“Domestic tourism contributes to growth. We survived global recession with help of tourism and BPO (business process outsourcing). In my first state of the nation address, said that the economy should be driven by ICT (Information and Communication Technology) ICT and tourism, and labor intensive sectors.”

Arroyo visited and inspected several tourist destinations in the country, which she started Monday as part of her Central Luzon Super region legacy tour.

She first went the Donsol Vitton and Woodland Resorts in Donsol in Sorsogon where she promoted the use of glassboat rides for non-swimmers and elders who wants to view and enjoy the marine culture and diversity without engaging in snorkeling, diving or swimming.

The President was supposed to go whale shark (butanding) watching but opted to just stay at the beach claiming that she had already done so in previous visits. Aside from butanding, which is the biggest fish in the country, Bicol region is also host to the smallest commercially harvested fish, sinarapan.

From Sorsogon, she proceeded to Misibis Bay Raintree Resort where she stayed overnight.

Arroy said she is proud of the Misibis Bay Raintree Resort, which is a five-star resort that is now attracting both local and foreign tourists who are now discovering and enjoying Bicol region, not just for the famous Mayon volcano but also for other known attractions like the butanding watching in Sorsogon, the wake boarding in Camarines Sur and world class resorts in Albay.

From Albay, the President flew to Puerto Princesa in Palawan Tuesday for a Cabinet meeting and a visit to the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park or more popularly known as the Underground River.

She went on a 45-minute paddle boat of the Underground River with Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn, Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr., and members of the Palawan media.

Arroyo during the visit urged Filipinos here and abroad to cast their votes through the internet and support the nomination of the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park in the New Seven Wonders campaign.

From Puerto Princesa, she flew to to Malapascua Island in Cebu where she will go shark watching and diving early Wednesday morning. She would proceed to Bohol afterwards to visit a tourism school. (JMR/Sunnex)