CITY OF SAN FERNANDO The local government of Guagua headed by Mayor Anthony Joseph Torres vowed to strengthen the town's guitar industry and the tourism and business sectors to help them recover economically from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guagua is renowned for its guitars and musical instruments, as well as world-class furniture and "chicharon," 'halo-halo" plus other sweets and pastries.
"Guagua is known for its guitar industry. We also have a world-class furniture industry here, as well as high-quality billiard cue sticks. We have famous food products like pastries, sweets, chicharon, and halo-halo. And we are proud of the St. James the Apostle Parish or the Betis Church famed as the Sistine Chapel of the Philippines as a top tourist destination," Torres said.
Badly hit by the coronavirus crisis, the mayor said the municipal government is now drafting measures on how to extend assistance and give support to these industries, like addressing the shortage and increase in prices of raw materials, low demand, developing potential markets for manufacturers to sell their products, and perking up sustainable tourism in the town by establishing more family-friendly spots for locals and tourists.
“When we talk about the guitar industry, what comes to mind is how to improve the quality of the guitars that we produce. However, I believe that there is doubt about the quality of our products here. The challenge is how to increase demand for these products. What we are keen on in the next three years is to find ways on how to increase people’s interest in playing the guitar and billiards in order to develop a potential market for these products,” Torres said.
As for tourism, the mayor said that “currently, we continue to develop parks in Guagua and make them more appealing for our residents and other tourists. We are also planning to expand product tourism in Guagua in order to attract more tourists and make our town livelier and more developed among other cities in the province.”
To boost agriculture, Torres disclosed that the municipality's first-ever rice mill and post-harvest facility is currently under construction, which when completed, will bring additional income to the town’s farmers.