Difference between revisions of "Mindoro Oriental Province, Philippines"

→ → Go back HOME to Zamboanga: the Portal to the Philippines.

Mindoro Oriental Province, Philippines (view source)

Revision as of 14:57, 24 March 2012

271 bytes added , 14:57, 24 March 2012

→‎Mindoro Oriental News

Jasmine75

Administrators

118,459

edits

@@ Line 188: / Line 188: @@
 ==[[Mindoro Oriental News]]==
-'''Bill on food transactions OK’d on second reading'''
+'''Puerto Galera cashes in on booming tourism sector'''
-*Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Bill-on-food-transactions-OK%E2%80%99d-on-second-reading&id=48788
+*Source: http://business.inquirer.net/50751/puerto-galera-cashes-in-on-booming-tourism-sector
-*March 21, 2012 10:19:33 PM
+*6:38 pm | Saturday, March 24th, 2012
-:by Noemi M. Gonzales
+:by  Amadís Ma. Guerrero, Contributor
+Philippine Daily Inquirer
-THE HOUSE of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill seeking full public disclosure of all government transactions involving food and food supply.
+“There is more to Puerto Galera than White Beach,” claims Mayor Hubbert A. Dolor in a recent briefing with Manila media in his office.
+“We are now promoting Puerto Galera as the heart of Asia, center of the center,” he adds.
-Government transparency as mandated by House Bill (HB) 5868 "is a step towards reinforcing the right of the people to affordable food and food security. The people have the right to know the factors that influence food supply and prices," Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali (2nd district), author of the bill, said in a statement.
+The fabled coastal town—with its resorts, beach coves, waterfalls, abundant marine life, limestone cliffs, rock formations, coral gardens, dive sites and mountains—is at the northern tip of Oriental Mindoro.
+It lays claim to having one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
-Under the measure, government agencies in charge of food and basic commodities are required to publish in their Web sites the contracted and actual volume of import per shipment, specification of import, contracted price and value or cost of import per volume, among others.
+As the international map puts it in French: “Les plus belle baies du monde.”
+Dolor, who is also a physician and holder of a Master’s degree in Public Administration, says “the Philippines is part of the Coral Triangle and we are at the center of the center of marine biodiversity.”
-In addition, all documents, papers, letters, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, films, sound and video recordings, magnetic or other tapes and electronic data processing records are covered by the proposed law.
+Talking about biodiversity, shouldn’t Palawan lay claim to that? The mayor doesn’t think so.
+“It (Palawan) is not in the center of the center,” he says.
-The government agencies are required to submit said documents to a Congressional Oversight Committee consisting of five members each from the Senate and House of Representatives.
+Puerto Galera attracts two million tourists every year and its income is boosted by the Environment Usage Fee (EUF) of P50 per visitor.
+By 2020, the town (now a first-class municipality) hopes to become a city, with its own airport.
-Under the measure, any government official or employee who shall knowingly release false and misleading information will be penalized with a fine of not more than P40,000 and imprisonment of three years.
+The construction phase is starting, with an assist from the Department of Transportation and Communication.
+Puerto Galera will likely have to wait a while to attain the status of a city, and in the meantime, it is bent on boosting its coffers through tourism.
-In case any official or employee who fails to respond to a request due to negligence or failure to meet the time limits for response, a fine of P20,000 is imposed and/or imprisonment of one year, including accessory penalties in both instances.
+“We have no other income except tourism,” the mayor says. “We have agricultural lands but our cooperative farmers have become tourist guides and boatmen.”
+What about the dark side of tourism, as in sex tours and pedophilia?
-"In order to reinforce and guarantee the right of the people to affordable and adequate food supply, the government must be transparent in all its transactions involving food and basic commodities," Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado M. Arroyo (2nd district), one of the authors, said in the same statement.
+“Gone are the days of human trafficking,” Dolor claims, “We have bars in Sabang but bars are part of tourism. There are regular checkups, and regular visits by doctors. So the bars are regulated and controlled.”
+Gold also still exists in Puerto Galera and other parts of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro (the big island was known to the Spaniards as “mina de oro”).
+Small-scale panning is tolerated but mining is a no-no.
+“There is only one industry in Puerto Galera and that’s tourism,” the mayor declares.
 ==Misamis Oriental Zip Codes==