Pagadian City can attract OFWs

WHEN ONE arrives in Pagadian after having been gone for a few years, one can always notice the difference. When he was honored as one of the best leaders in Pagadian, former Mayor Joaquin Pajares aptly said that Pagadian is undeniably progressing because of the new infrastructures that one can see everywhere.

Building up the infrastructures
The perimeter building around Agora market, in spite of the controversy it created on how it was apportioned, has transformed it from a rustic to a modern public market. The ongoing rehabilitation inside the market after the recent fire might make it one of the best public markets in Mindanao, if not in the entire country.

To follow is the construction of the new commercial center building. City Mayor Sammy Co said he already learned a lesson. This time, the city government will be the one to sell the stall rights of the building so that no businessmen will have a chance of getting rental rights and sell the same to others for a big profit margin. He said that the city government will be the one to make money here, not anybody else.

Recently, Co announced that the rehabilitation of the city airport will soon start. After the rehabilitation, the airport can already accommodate bigger planes. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines already intend to open flights at the airport.

Along with these key infrastructures are the soon-to-open big malls of Gaisano and Best Emporium.

Making the people friendly
As the city infrastructure booms, Co has unleashed a string of activities that keep the atmosphere merry and the spirits of Pagadianons high. The 39th Araw ng Pagadian had a 10-day long celebration full of excitement and merrymaking. The varied competitions from the motocross to beauty pageant entertained the Pagadianons who took a breather from their daily struggles of life.

The entertainment didn’t stop. After the Araw celebration, the city government again initiated the playoff of the Pagadian Explorer against other teams at the city gym. It also hosted the free piano classical concert rendered by renowned pianists Dr. Ingrid Sta. Maria and Prof. Reynaldo Reyes.

Looking back, the city government had its constituents watch a display of spectacular fireworks on the Chinese New Year. To their great delight and mirth, colorful fireworks painted the skies of the city for the first time.

Experience shows that when people are entertained, something is released to their brain that makes them feel happy or merry. When the people feel happy or merry especially in groups, they tend to be friendly. Conditioning the people to be happy or merry in groups which seems to be what the city government is doing could only result to Pagadianons becoming friendly.

Attracting OFWs
Who would not like to live and invest in a booming city where there are lots of exciting and entertaining events and the people are friendly? In this scenario, the Pagadianons working abroad will most likely think of investing their money here in the city other than somewhere else. The increasing number of subdivisions in the city should consider targeting more the OFWs other than the regional employees that are about to transfer here, for the simple reason that the former have more money.

By organizing recently the families in the city who have OFW relatives, the city government can now easily identify whom they have to target to invest in the city.

Though it is preferable to convince big firms to invest in the city due to higher potential revenues, the piling up of investments from the OFWs can help expand the market potential of the city and can eventually attract big investors. Big investors naturally come when the population grows big and the purchasing power of the people is high.

On the other hand, the Pagadianons abroad can also help to maximize the export market since they are more in position to build contacts and establish distribution outlets abroad for the city products, including those found at the pasalubong center. There are a lot of success stories already across the country of entrepreneurs making it big in the export market. If they can, why can’t the Pagadianons?

To further attract the OFWs, the city government has to assure them of peace and order. Since criminality is always a concomitant problem to a growing city, the local leaders has to devise a strategy to contain it to a level that does not destroy the city image. Not a single city in the country can eradicate criminality, but at least the local leaders should find ways how to minimize it.

So far, peace and order in the city has since become better. We cannot anymore hear policemen gunned down one after the other. The police are back on top of the situation.

A combination of building up the city infrastructures and of making the people friendly seems to be the strategy of the city government in promoting Pagadian. Whatever might be the objectives of the city government, this two-pronged strategy enhances its capacity to attract the Pagadianons working abroad to invest in the city. The booming and friendly City is now in a position to attract their green bucks.

Pagadian dancers bag awards in Dapitan fest

FESTIVAL DANCERS from Pagadian bagged awards in the 2008 Kinabayo festival July 25 in Dapitan City.

The 60 teenage dancers from the Zamboanga del Sur National High School Sta. Lucia Annex (ZSNHS Sta. Lucia) received P75,000 for the second prize, P20,000 for the best in street dancing, P10,000 for the best in costume, and another P10,000 for the consolation prize.

The Pagadian dancers were then the defending champion in the festival, as they won the first prize in 2007 Kinabayo festival, ZSNHS Sta. Lucia Principal Brigido Bayocot said.

The Kinabayo festival is a dance competition that re-enacts the crusade in Spain, in particular the battles of Covadonga and Clavijo wherein the Christian forces prevailed against the Moors with the reported miraculous apparition of St. James, the apostle, riding a white horse and wielding a sword.

The said battles were the turning point of the Spanish crusade because they gave the Christians the strongholds crucial for their eventual victory in Spain.
Originally, 20 contingents applied to participate in the Kinabayo festival, but because of the recent oil and rice crisis, the number of applicants reduced to seven.

Only the Pagadian contingent came from outside the province of Zamboanga del Norte. The rest represented either a town or a barangay or a school in the said province.

Ms. Alna Lasala, the Pagadian dance trainor, said the ZSNHS-Sta Lucia joined the festival primarily to promote Pagadian City as the new regional center.
“Our dancers really strive hard to win so that people from different places will get notice of Pagadian,” Lasala said.

Bayocot said that the same set of Pagadian dancers in Kinabayo Festival also won the second prize in the Subanen Keg Dance Festival in Ozamiz City last July 16. They received P50,000 for the Ozamiz award.

The dancers were backed up by props men, kitchen staff, and a group of advisers, making the Pagadian contingent a total of 130 persons, Bayocot said.
The ZSNHS-Sta Lucia dancers are consistent placer in dance competitions, Bayocot added.

Lasala said the ZSNHS Sta. Lucia dancers won a grand slam in the Pasalamat dance festival of Pagadian in the early 2004 for winning in three consecutive years. This grand slam made the ZSNHS Sta. Lucia the bet of Pagadian in the 2004 Aliwan national dance festival in Pasay City, she added.

She said that the dancers also won 1st price in the last ZamboSur Megayon dance festival in 2006 and in the dance festivals last year in the towns of Vincenzo Sagun in Zamboanga del Sur and Polanco and Liloy in Zamboanga del Norte.

Lasala said that she hoped that the city tourism office would recommend to City Mayor Sammy Co to have the ZSNHS Sta.Lucia dancers as the city’s bet in the upcoming dance festivals in Tangub City and in Iligan City.

In any dance festival, the city’s bet is either the dance troupe of ZSNHS Sta. Lucia or of ZSNHS Main upon the recommendation of the city tourism office, Lasala said.

Recharged and inspired at Dakak

RELAXING AT the Dakak Beach Resort did not only give me a breather from work and from the tantrums of my children. The marvelous beauty of the powdery white sand beach, lush vegetation, clear seawater and fresh salty air recharged my spirit in a way that only Dapitan can offer.

When I received invitation from Zamboanga City-based journalist Cheng Ordoñez for the 1st media summit on ecotourism at Dakak, Dapitan City, I did not hesitate to give my consent. Frankly, it’s not about the subject on ecotourism, as I have read and heard so much about it already. It is because of Dakak.

I was the first one to arrive at Dakak on the first day of the summit. While I was waiting at the lobby, a German national was happily giving P50 bill tip to all the resort staff in the resort lobby and restaurant. They were all smiles thanking him and bidding him safe trip back home in Germany. Amused by what I saw, I nodded at his Filipina wife. She smiled and said, “He always does that every time we come here for our yearly vacation.” I thought he must have been very happy every time he visits Dakak so that his generosity overflows.

Capturing the moments
An hour later, my colleagues in the media arrived in a big pump boat. The tourism staff of Dapitan City gave them a grand welcome. Dancers in native costumes frolicked on the powdery white sand accompanied by a festive drumbeat. The festive atmosphere overwhelmed the place so that my colleagues tried to capture the moment in every click of their digital cameras.

For the next two days of the summit, we had thousands of shots of interesting places, people and events of Dapitan in order to capture the beauty and energy that we experienced in the city. It is not really a summit, as we usually understand the word. It is more of a guided tour in red carpet treatment for the 30 journalists meant to show to the world thru the media that visiting Dapitan, especially Dakak, is worth one’s time and money.

Rich heritage
Aside from allowing us to experience the posh Dakak Beach Resort, the summit organizers showed us the rich cultural heritage of Dapitan that centers on the exile of Jose Rizal, the national hero, in the city. We saw the memorabilia of Rizal at the Rizal Shrine, underscored by the weird beliefs of a Rizal cult maintaining the shrine. The cult members believe that Rizal is an incarnate of Jesus Christ and will someday reincarnate in another human form to bring salvation. Regardless of their beliefs, Rizal in his life works left a legacy that brings hope to those who long for a better world.

This hope that I saw at the Rizal Shrine made my swimming at the famous beach of Dakak not only refreshing but also meaningful. As I was recharged, I could see where I should spend my renewed energy. As I recalled the reason that drove Rizal to maximize his energy, I could see the social problems of today as nothing less that should drive anybody to maximize his energy for a better world. I have to do my best to make the public well-informed, thanks to my reflections while swimming at the famous beach.

Lots of fun
Swimming is not what only Dakak can offer to her visitors. Visitors can also go scuba diving, kayaking, banana-boating, water skiing and fishing. As alternative, they can also swim at the swimming pool with tumbling waterfalls. They can get relaxing massage on the beach, on the pool or in the room. They can go on horseback riding or mountain bike riding. They can also play bowling, billiard, tennis or golf.

In December, a casino will open at Dakak. Construction is now ongoing on what used to be the front desk building. The casino will surely make the leisure time of Dakak visitors more exciting. It is an added color that will attract more moneyed visitors.

Spiritual renewal
I don’t have enough time and money then to enjoy everything what Dakak can offer. But, my being there served the purpose. I only went there to get recharged. Like a cell phone that needs to be recharged, I also need the energy coming from the transcendent source provided through the marvelous beauty of nature -powdery white sand beach, lush vegetation, clear seawater, and fresh salty air. While swimming, I got recharged by nature’s best, as well as inspired by my thoughts on the optimism imprinted at the Rizal Shrine. It is a spiritual renewal that one can only experience at Dakak of Dapitan.

Now, I have a mouthful to share to others about what I experienced at Dakak. During the summit, the summit organizers kept on telling us to help in promoting Dakak so that it can bring back its glory days in the early 90’s in which hundreds of foreigners flock Dakak in a day. As for me, promoting the posh beach resort is only incidental, as I am just sharing an account of one my most memorable spiritual moments.

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