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I was in Puerto Princesa during the first week of December 2011 to attend a conference in online learning. Palawan, situated in the western part of the country, is often referred to as the last frontier because of its relative isolation from the country’s mainstream in terms of geographical location. It is also called such due to the pristine and bountiful natural resources that it possesses.
Significant changes
Prior to that trip, I was in Palawan twice before, first in the mid 80s for a market survey where I had the opportunity to travel the length of the province from up north in Roxas to down south in Brooks Point. Since the roads that time to
the destinations I mentioned were not yet fully cemented, we took the public transport in our survey since the company car of the firm I worked for cannot withstand the arduous travel. I remember taking the bus south to Brooks Point where we stayed for the night and the jeep going up north to Roxas. I also remember us hiring a jeep back to Puerto Princesa from Roxas since we missed the last trip at 2 p.m. owing to the survey activities we conducted.
I had a chance again to re-visit the province for a business meeting in the early 90s, a fly-in and out event to and from Puerto Princesa. Between the two visits, noting much really changed in Puerto Princesa. But my third visit almost 20
years after presented a significant change, both in infrastructure, economic and business activities, as well as the standards of living in the province.
The capital is booming with business enterprises where most major banks as well as national retail stores and brands are present in the city. A lot of hotels have sprouted, testament to the flowering of tourism in the province. And there are a lot more of the ubiquitous tricycles, which are the main mode of transport within the city.
An unforgettable trip
I did not want to leave Palawan without experiencing one of its primary tourist attractions, the Puerto Princesa Underground River, which I did not see in my two previous visits. It was then called the St. Paul Subterranean River since it was located underneath the St. Paul’s Mountain. It did not then call much attention both from local and foreign tourists. With the efforts, however, of the local government, it has come to the consciousness not only of the Filipinos but the world as well and successfully competed for inclusion among the new seven natural wonders of the world.
I was impressed with the logistics set-up the provincial government has put up so tourists mostly coming in through Puerto Princesa can be ferried to and from PPUR efficiently. There was order as well in the transfers from the Saban port to the mouth of the river to the motorized bancas and the efficiency continues with the transfer from the mouth of the river to the paddled bancas which will take the tourists to the 45-minute breathtaking and awe-inspiring ride inside the underground river.
It was an unforgettable trip. The bancas which can carry 8 to 10 tourists were paddled by a single boatman who also acted as tour guides. And they were very good at what they do, not only in steering the bancas well, but also pointing out highlights of the various geologic formations inside the underground river which were formed millions of years back.
The PPUR is a sterling example of a sustainable eco-tourism program wherein a natural wonder can be made accessible to tourists to experience and at the same time provide economic benefits to the various stakeholders in the province–the government, the hotels and tour operators, the tourist stores as well the motorized and paddled banca owners and operators. It is a testament to the creativity as well as sensitivity of the stakeholders not only to preserve a God-given gift but share this particular gift in a sustaining fashion to the rest of the country and the world.
Hail to the Puerto Princesa Underground River!
by Dennis L. Berino The author is a professorial lecturer at the De La Salle University’s Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. He welcomes comments at [email protected].
Filed under News by on Jan 9th, 2012. Comment. 
Palawan tourism
MANILA, Philippines—The year 2012 is going to be filled with preparations and projects for the Puerto Princesa Underground River’s emergence as an international Palawan tourism star.
Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn (center) shows New Seven Wonders Foundation president Bernard Weber and director Jean-Paul de la Fuente the awe-inspiring sights of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in this photo taken on Oct. 23, 2011. RODEL ROTONI
With the underground jewel’s inclusion on the list of the new seven wonders of nature—a list that would be finalized in the first quarter of the new year following the verification of votes—the already rising number of tourists there is expected to increase even more.
This is why, according to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, the government is focused on improving and increasing infrastructure to cope with the influx of visitors and the expectation that their numbers will further rise this year. Protecting the natural features of Puerto Princesa is also a priority, he added.
Paje said that following the underground river’s inclusion on the list of new seven wonders of nature, the current booking stands at 1,500 a day, but the capacity of the tourist facilities at present is only 800. The number of bookings is almost twice what could be accommodated, he noted.
But as big as this number is for Palawan
, “that can even double,” he said, especially when the final list of the New Seven Wonders that includes the underground river is officially confirmed. Even airlines are flying bigger airplanes to Palawan because of the number of tourists to Puerto Princesa, he noted.
The list of new seven wonders of nature, announced in November, was considered provisional because the organizers still had to validate votes received by the winners in a global poll. The final announcement is expected early in 2012, and Philippine officials are confident of the underground river’s place on the list.
Paje said that as far as he knew, the organizers would not release the ranking of all seven winners, but he believes the underground river in Palawan was among the top vote-getters.
Because of the visitors coming in droves and with more expected to arrive, Paje said, President Aquino has made the Puerto Princesa Underground River a major Cabinet agenda item during its last meeting and ordered the expansion of the airport there to be an international gateway for tourists, especially those coming from such big markets as Xiamen, Shanghai and Kaoshiung.
The Department of Palawan
was instructed to develop plans for new hotels as well. The administration is also hoping for the private sector to come in.
But at the same time, the government wants to ensure that the star of the show—Palawan’s own natural wonders—will not be destroyed.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources will play the crucial role of protecting the underground river even as the area around it is developed, according to Paje.
“We’ve been instructed by the President to ensure that as we expand and accommodate more tourists in Palawan, it will not damage the environment or cause damage to natural features,” he said in a phone interview.
“Even if we would want tourists to come to Palawan , we don’t want to commercialize it. We just want to make the transportation and infrastructure very efficient and tourist-friendly,” he added.
Paje also said that Palawan underground river’s designation as one of seven new wonders in the world is sure to put it on the tourism map of the globe.
He noted that when China’s Great Wall and India’s Taj Mahal were named among the seven wonders of the world, they became top destinations and highlights of their country. It is hard to think of China without thinking of the Great Wall, while thinking of India immediately conjures an image of the Taj Mahal, he said.
source: globalnation.inquirer.net
Filed under News by on Jan 12th, 2012. Comment.
Exotic Palawan with
Turquoise waters, crystalline sand and foliage composed of tropical palms.
These are the words we tend to associate with our idea of a seaside paradise. And in the Philippines, El Nido Resorts in Palawan, with its hidden lagoons, virgin rainforests, and exotic wildlife, embodies this tropical ideal.
El Nido in exotic Palawan
El Nido Resorts are comprised of Miniloc Island and Lagen Island in El Nido, and Apulit Island in Taytay, Palawan. These three private eco-resorts are found nestled in the middle of the Linapacan Strait in the north, the Sulu Sea in the east, and the South China Sea in the west, making them gateways to Palawan’s untouched islands. Each resort has its own personality and charm, topped with a spectrum of activities offered for any indulgence.
The New York Times #1 bestselling travel book, “1000 Places to See Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz, included El Nido in its 2011 edition. The international bestseller describes Palawan as a last frontier of extraordinary natural beauty. It also highlights Miniloc Island’s exceptional eco-tour that brings guests to its lagoons surrounded with limestone cliffs; and Lagen Island’s romantic over-water bungalows.
So whether it’s sailing across the island’s most beautiful cove, spelunking in Palawan’s caves or exploring the most beautiful lagoons, you get to enjoy it all amid the most picturesque tropical setting. And with an unlimited list of activities to complement the scenic backdrop, El Nido Resorts gives you the key to exotic Palawan.
source: malaya.com.ph
Lonely Planet Philippines: Palawan
Includes FREE planning and background information. You can never escape it. Everywhere you look there it is. Whether it’s the Sulu Sea to the east or the South China Sea to the west, as much a highway as a source of sustenance, nothing defines Palawan more than the water surrounding it. The proverbial island paradise with seascapes the equal of any in Southeast Asia, wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic, this, the Philippines’ most sparsely populated region is also its most beguiling. Historically, it was always an outlier, an island apart. Known as Pa Lao Yu (island of beautiful harbour) before the arrival of the Spanish who later referred to it as paragua (umbrella) for its shape, control of Palawan was contested by the colonisers and Moros from Borneo for over a hundred years. These days the struggle is overdevelopment versus maintenance of the largely untouched environment. Gaisano, Robinson’s and SM – the signifiers of urbanisation elsewhere – have yet to make inroads. Because of its silhouette – a long sliver stretching 650km all the way from the Mindoro Strait to the tip of Borneo – there’s a certain liberating logic to travel in Palawan. Centrally located Puerto Princesa, the administrative and culinary capital, is also the transport hub. To the south, where there’s little government footprint, populated by indigenous tribal groups and Muslim communities, it’s rough but potentially rewarding travel for those with reserves of endurance. The majority of travellers go north, without question the highlight. Watching the sunset standing on El Nido’s ramshackle beachfront with a glorious view of Cadlao Island, or skimming along in a bangka around a maze of uninhabited islands in the Calamian Group feels somewhat post-apocalyptic – like the morning after the proverbial flood.
Includes FREE planning and background information. You can never escape it. Everywhere you look there it is. Whether it’s the Sulu Sea to the east or the South China Sea to the west, as much a highway as a source of sustenance, nothing defines Palawan more than the water surrounding it. The proverbial island paradise with seascapes the equal of any in Southeast Asia, wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic, this, the Philippines’ most sparsely populated region is also its most beguiling. Historically, it was always an outlier, an island apart. Known as Pa Lao Yu (island of beautiful harbour) before the arrival of the Spanish who later referred to it as paragua (umbrella) for its shape, control of Palawan was contested by the colonisers and Moros from Borneo for over a hundred years. These days the struggle is overdevelopment versus maintenance of the largely untouched environment. Gaisano, Robinson’s and SM – the signifiers of urbanisation elsewhere – have yet to make inroads. Because of its silhouette – a long sliver stretching 650km all the way from the Mindoro Strait to the tip of Borneo – there’s a certain liberating logic to travel in Palawan. Centrally located Puerto Princesa, the administrative and culinary capital, is also the transport hub. To the south, where there’s little government footprint, populated by indigenous tribal groups and Muslim communities, it’s rough but potentially rewarding travel for those with reserves of endurance. The majority of travellers go north, without question the highlight. Watching the sunset standing on El Nido’s ramshackle beachfront with a glorious view of Cadlao Island, or skimming along in a bangka around a maze of uninhabited islands in the Calamian Group feels somewhat post-apocalyptic – like the morning after the proverbial flood.
List Price: $ 5.99
Price: $ 5.99
source: malaya.com.ph
Filed under News by on Jan 21st, 2012. Comment.
