SINCE moving earth started last June 16 for the 760-hectare Hijo Industrial Estates township development in barangay Madaum, Tagum City in Davao del Norte, the vision of what it will become is slowly taking shape.
Last September 9, Hijo introduced the prototype Plantation Villa to a group of bloggers and SunStar Davao -- a two-storey villa that gives priority to natural lighting and ventilation while providing the air conditioning facility when temperature soars.
The Villa, designed for homeowners interested in high end residential living by the sun and the sea, gives you a view of the mountainous terrain of the neighboring Compostela Valley and is a brisk walk to the beach in an old colonial plantation setting.
"All these is in fulfillment of the vision of my father," said Hijo Resources, Inc. chief executive officer and president Rosanna Tuason Fores in a tete-a-tete over the weekend. "My father was a visionary, he was all for inclusivity. That is why he died early because he was flying all over the country in those tiny three-seater planes to oversee development."
It was in this spirit that the Hijo Estate at the start of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp), was the first banana plantation to go into a voluntary offer (VOS), reducing its landholdings in Tagum to the present area it has now.
While they still have banana plantations, Fores said, they recognize that this sector is fraught with market problems and that the land holdings they have cannot compete with market leaders in Davao del Norte. She believes that the industry that will bring the inclusive development that her father embarked on before his early demise at the age of 39 is tourism and real estate development.
"Especially tourism, everyone benefits from tourism," she said. This is the reason why they opened the Banana Beach Casitas designed by renowned Architect Angelo Manosa; a stylish take-off from a nipa hut. There are the premium casitas that are air conditioned, and the naturally-ventilated classic casitas for the budget conscious.
With just P4,000++ one gets the premium casitas for two persons for a perfect night's sleep after communing with the sea.
It was in 2012, when Hijo Resorts Davao established itself as the first and only eco-agri tourism destination of the country, as it worked with the estate's natural landscape to bring the full experience of the beach and the forest as it was in the days of yore.
"It's all about sharing. We grew up here, we are sharing the experience of the beach and the fun we had when we were young," she said.
Open for day tours as well, a guest can explore not just the beach-side amenities but the forest as well, which boasts of a canopy walk suspended 18 meters above the ground from giant trees.
Fores recalled how good she was in catching crabs on the beach, even expounding on the technique so that you don't get pinched.
On the development side, 320 hectares of the area is devoted to leisure and tourism, which includes the 60-hectare forest that boasts of Philippine hardwood species and the indigenous katmon (Dillenia philippinensis), which Hijo bartenders use to flavor their cocktails, a four-kilometer fine sand shoreline, mangroves, creeks, and streams.
Hijo Resources will be shelling out at least half a billion pesos in the next two years to move the project that will have a town center at its core and a satellite government center.
They will be offering high, medium, and low density developments to cater to the industrial estate's residential needs. This will have a clubhouse, sports facilities, and open spaces and parks for its residents.
It envisions having a section for business process outsourcing companies and other information and communications technology based establishments.
To the left of the property, where a port already exists, Hijo Resources Corporation will be developing a 54-hectare deep-sea port with a draft of 13 meters is designed to handle both containerized and break-bulk cargoes. It will have an initial terminal capacity of 450,000 TEU expandable to 650,000 in a joint venture with the International Container Terminal Services Inc.
With investors’ interest drawn the Mindanao way, it is indeed high time that the locals cash in and bring the benefit of such interest and development to the people.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte had declared it early into his administration, that this government is all above inclusive growth.
Now Hijo is taking up the challenge in honor of the one who ventured to bring development as he saw fit during those early years of the still undeveloped Mindanao, the man who started Hijo Estate: Jose "Boy" Tuason.