Eastern Samar Philippines

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar  –  Now that tourism potentials are within reach with Eastern Samar particularly this city as a definite flying destination of South East Asian Airlines (Seair) and Philippine Airlines (PAL) starting this year, what now? Can the province sustain the possible upsurge of the visiting local and foreign tourists?

TV host Boy Abuda during a meeting on tourism in Borongan CityThese are primarily the questions that were tried to be answered in a meeting spearheaded by Gov. Ben P. Evardone and ABS-CBN’s celebrated host Boy Abunda in the Provincial Capitol, this city. The meeting was also attended by Regional Director Karen Tiopes of Department of Tourism, Bishop Cripin B. Varquez and some Provincial Heads.

“This meeting was spurred by the rapid developments in trying to attract commercial airlines to fly to Borongan directly,” Gov. Evardone opened up during the interaction. The governor has been tapping commercial air carriers to ply Manila-Borongan-Manila route and was first responded by Seair which will fly to the city as soon as the airport in Barangay Point Mary is ready for operation. PAL has also put Eastern Samar as one of the added domestic destination before the year ends. 

“If these all will be in place,” Evardone said referring to the commercial flights to the province,” definitely tourists, both domestic and foreign, will flock.”

“Boy (Abunda) is willing to help in promoting tourism in the province,” the governor announced. Abunda is a native of the City of Borongan. 

The TV host on his part said that the province really has much to offer to incoming tourists. “With Seair and PAL flying to Borongan, this is really our chance to shine,” Abunda said. Abunda added that for so many years Eastern Samar has been a backyard and a layback of Tacloban City and Leyte because of inaccessibility of potential tourist attractions in the province but with the entry of the two airlines, opportunity is definitely at the door of the province.

“We want to be a major player in the Visayas, if not in the country,” Abunda said obviously referring to tourism. “We cannot be a laidback and we cannot be inaccessible for the rest of our lives,” he commented.  “How to be one cannot be done by the Church, by the Provincial Government or the DOT alone but by all,” he added. 

With the coming of the two air players in the country to the province, “we have to be viable”, ABS-CBN’s Abunda said. Abunda added that the operation of airlines in the province is sustainable with the fact that a great number of PAL passengers in Tacloban are from Eastern Samar.

For a start, Gov. Evardone, Abunda and Tiopes agreed to make use of the currently developed attractions in the province. Among the tourist-ready destinations in the province are beaches and islands in the province. 

For his part, Evardone already instructed Provincial Administrator Joseph Alan Limabauan to come up with floating cottages along the rivers of Sabang Suribao and Camada, southern barangays of the City of Borongan. Limbauan is also the designated Tourism Officer of the province.

Director Tiopes encouraged the local officials in the province to be tourist-friendly. “The local officials should campaign on educating the people to bear the basic courtesies when visitors come,” she urged. Most tourist-flocked cities and provinces are educating their people on how to be tourist-ready. 

Provincial Planning and Development Officer Henry Afable meanwhile urged the governor and the rest who were in the meeting to come up with a Tourism Master Plan. “We need to systematize everything that had been said here,” Afable said. The TMP is initially scheduled on the early part of August which will be spearheaded by the DOT and the Tourism Development Council and which under the watch of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Editha Sepulveda.

Meanwhile, the Church is asking all the planners to consider the protection of the ecology in the tourism plan. “Please give regard to the environment in your plans,” Fr. Euly Belizar, Jr. voiced out in the meeting. 

“I am proud to come from Borongan. I am very vocal about my birthplace and I know we have much to offer to the tourists,” Abunda declared. “I am very much willing to help” he said.

“Of course there will be problems and obstacles along the way, but surely we will overcome it,” Abunda said. 

Governor Evardone said that developing Eastern Samar into a tourist hub is not an overnight task. “This will take years and even decades,” he said but there really is a need to develop the province.