Insurgency remains, hinders tourism growth

Saturday, February 11, 2012

INSURGENCY remains a hurdle for local government units to promote tourism in the north east part of Eastern Samar province.

Maslog Mayor Septemio Santiago said the presence of New People’s Army (NPA) in the area is one of the bottlenecks, which projects a bad image and discourages tourists from visiting the place, including his town.

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Maslog, which has majestic waterfalls and beautiful rivers, wildlife areas, rolling hills and mountains, ironically can’t cash on its tourism potential, failing even in the local market.

“We are ready to accept local and foreign tourists. What we could offer is adventure tourism, which does not really require infrastructure. But the problem is we cannot promote our town because of the presence of insurgents,” Santiago said.

Santiago said though Maslog is not really infiltrated, its adjoining villages and municipalities are heavily influenced by the insurgent group.

In order to reach Maslog, one has to take more than two hours of boat ride from Dolores town.

“Even government officials are afraid to go to Maslog for fear of the NPA. How can we move forward if the situation remains like this?” Santiago added.

Maslog is a fifth income class municipality composed of 12 barangays. The town could be an emerging destination with a wealth of natural beauty. It boasts for its Talusi falls and Katigabungan rapids.

The mayor said his municipality has been chosen as one of the recipients for a project of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAP).

“We initially proposed for the construction of a road that would connect Maslog to Dolores,” Santiago said.

A 37-kilometer all-weather-road currently connects Dolores to Maslog but needs bridge connections. Some constructions are needed within the last 13-kilometer stretch from Barangay Hinolaso in Dolores up to the town center in Maslog. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)