Catanduanes Forum

I admire the collective and concerted efforts being devoted by the members of the Forum as they herald before the outside world the exquisite and natural beauty of the island province.

What seems to be missing is the extent of support that should be forthcoming from the provincial government and the private sector. The issue of infrastructure comes to play because without it, there is not much to hope for in terms of revenue potential. Catanduanes stands to compete with other outlying provinces endowed with the same flora and fauna. And most likely, those provinces closer to access by foreigners and tourists will be the ones that will benefit from the influx.

How serious is the provincial government in supporting tourism and travel to Catanduances? Does the province have a regional travel bureau that handles the promotion of tourism? In the absence of such support, is there a chamber of commerce in Catanduanes that can assist and provide seed money to those private enterprises willing to take the risk of investing their time and money? The answer to all these may be reworded in a phrase known as "high quality connections" or HQC. By consorting with the governor, do you achieve HQC? If not, any discussions devoted to the promotion of tourism and travel are all but empty talk or shooting the breeze.

HQC requires solid commitments and not lip service. HQC goes where the mouth is and where the source of money may be. How many beautiful and exquisite sites are available for tourism and travel? What is the peace and order situation in these areas? Are we talking about paved and accesssible roads? What is the extent of revenue sharing between landowners and the provincial government? Who will secure and assure foreigners of their safety during extended stays? Is there a travel agency abroad who will handle plans for those visiting Catanduanes?

Given all the arguments and uncertainties, those willing to promote the island province must establish HQC with the local Chamber of Commerce of Catanduanes because there is this greater chance of involvement by the private sector in terms of financial needs. While the provincial government may be a source of support, the same may be far-fetched because of the politics and turf-wars associated with making quick and reliable decisions. In other words, the provincial government is prone to the "quid pro quo" (scratch my back and I will scratch yours) approach. This in not conducive to growth and will only generate lukewarm support.

Remember now, most of those now entrenched in power have for their main objective the recovery of financial resources, which they spent in the just concluded election. They cannot divert from this main pre-occupation by looking after another undertaking, which will not benefit them directly.

junsoriao