The next big thing, they said, in Palawan is San Vicente, a first-class municipality located 186 kilometers north of the province with nice beaches and lush forest covers, and is home to over 30,000 people according to the census undertaken in 2010.
With a 14-kilometer white beachfront, the town led by Mayor Pie Alvarez has become an attractive tourist destination. Foreign and domestic travelers, who have enough time, always make it on top of their list to drop by in San Vicente.
But going to San Vicente remains difficult. Most of the road networks are not yet paved, and the major ones have yet to be concreted for the buses and shuttle vans to get there easily from several points.
Most often, and to avoid the grueling journey, those who can afford extra go by outrigger boats from Sabang in Barangay Cabayugan, home of the Puerto Princesa Underground River.
The white-sand beaches of San Vicente are not the only reason it is worthy to visit. People who have gone to the municipality swear that it also has flourishing coral reefs that are good for diving, captivating detached portions of lands—big and smaller ones—splendid waterfalls, thick mangroves, a wonderful collection of endemic flora and fauna, hospitable people, and the environment simply just have that grand gesture of welcoming anyone.
All these will no longer be hard to experience in the next two years, according to the lady mayor, “people just have to be a little more patient.”
In local television interview, Alvarez said that by the first quarter of 2015, funds will be poured into the rehabilitation, necessary pavement, and concreting of road networks to ease traveling to San Vicente, including the opening of other needed transportation accesses.
James Inawasan, who works for the municipal government, said the new airport located 185 kilometers north of the town is continuously being constructed.
Currently, the floor of the terminal is being completed, and by early next year, the contractor will already work on the roofing to open up the possibility of already welcoming small aircrafts. He said at least half-a-billion pesos is needed to bring the new airport to accommodate large aircraft, or those that will come from other Asian countries, such as Thailand in the next two years.
“By January, maybe we can already welcome small aircraft to bring tourists here from other parts of the country,” he said.
Of the half billion, P250 million will reportedly be provided by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), an attached agency to the Philippine government under the Department of Tourism, responsible for implementing policies and programs pertaining to the development, promotion, and supervision of tourism projects in the Philippines.
With the Tieza funds, he said, the new airport will offer new possibilities in their town, including the upgrade in the living standards of residents.
PNA