Sunday, April 13, 2008 [ philstar.com ]
Regularly visited by typhoons and considered one of the poorest regions in the Philippines, Bicol is rising and gearing up to be a dynamic, world-class and first-class province.
Two years after the grim tragedy that hit Bicol where hundreds of people died in a landslide of debris loosened on the slopes of Mayon Volcano by non-stop rains, the region is bouncing back, thanks to the support and passion of local leaders who work side by side with Gawad Kalinga (GK).
Local government units are scoring breakthroughs in tourism and other infrastructure developments.
“Bicol has a wealth of natural resources, the Bicolanos are resilient and strong. We can show that we can go from local to global,” Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte Jr. said in an interview.
Camarines Sur has gained international renown for its wakeboarding facilities and has even been referred to by foreign media as the wakeboarding capital of the world.
Side by side with their vision to go global, the mayors and governors in Bicol have the mindset to improve the lives of the poor in their provinces not just by providing shelter but also by harnessing their talent, self-sufficiency and productivity.
Bicol and GK are united with one goal: to develop integrated, holistic and sustainable communities so that the poor can dream bigger and work harder.
Bicol has the biggest number of GK villages at 150.
Villafuerte said Bicol is the only region in the whole country that will have GK homes in all the towns and cities by the second quarter of this year.
In Camarines Sur, there are 50 villages and in tune with its goal to build a first-class community, Villafuerte said they are building the first bed-and-breakfast facilities in GK sites, and a restaurant run by GK homeowners.
Villafuerte said they put up the bed-and-breakfast facilities in GK to let other people see the beauty and vibrancy in a GK community.
“GK communities are tourism showcases in themselves. The houses burst with colors, with landscaped gardens, nice pathways, farmland with various flowering fruits and vegetables, a fishpond, and a sweeping view of the mountain and the sea,” Villafuerte said.
The immersion projects of GK is widely known, and many balikbayans and foreign organizations like the Engineers without Borders and students of Yale and Stanford come to GK sites to study the community, help build and immerse in the GK life.
“We thought of setting up a GK bed and breakfast because a lot of people are curious about GK, a lot of rich want to live in a GK community,” Villafuerte said.
In creating first-class GK communities, Villafuerte said this is veering away from the poor and impoverished image of the province.
“We want to produce well-evolved communities that put nutrition, food production, livelihood and education as top priorities. This is veering away from the poor and impoverished image that has so convincingly and consistently been painted in the last decades. Local can be global,” Villafuerte said.
“The GK vision challenges us to break the Filipino stereotype that we live in a Third World country and that life doesn’t get any better than this. The good news is that, it can and it is happening right in Camarines Sur. If we come up with a First World CamSur, then it will deliver the good news to all Filipinos that it can be done,” he added.
Villafuerte is proud that Camarines Sur is now recognized as a top tourist destination.
“When you say tourism in the Bicol region, it used to be Mt. Mayon and recently, Donsol in Sorsogon. Or when you say tourism in the Philippines, you end up looking at only three or four places – Bohol, Boracay, Cebu and Palawan. But there is more to the county than what we have been traditionally promoting or advertising. Why not CamSur?” Villafuerte said.
“But making CamSur a viable tourist destination took a lot of effort. A portion of the provincial capitol complex was transformed into one of the world’s best wakeboarding parks and one thing led to another. We now have investors from all over the world taking serious interest in our IT park. We have a call center that now seats more than 500. And in close to two years, we have made CamSur the number one tourist destination in the region. This for us is a breakthrough,” Villafuerte said.
Aside from its wakeboarding facilities, CamSur also boasts of Caramoan beach, an unspoiled white sand beach area that is the next film location of the international Survivor series.
Mayors and governors from all over Bicol are pitching in not only to build shelter for their people but also to improve and sustain their livelihood.
Daet Mayor Tito Sarion said his goal is to convey the good news of GK to other people and to inspire them to help, just as he was inspired.
Iriga Mayor Madeleine Gazmen, for her part, said communities in GK sites in her town are self-reliant and sustainable. With the help of the Shell Farm Foundation and the Department of Agrarian Reform, the residents plant and harvest various fruit-bearing trees, plants and crops. The beneficiaries in GK sites also raise goats, poultry and fish for their livelihood and personal consumption.
“I think what is important is for us to really unite to help our fellow Filipinos, most especially the poor. It’s time that we set aside politicking, especially at this time,” Gazmen said.
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