FOR Misamis Oriental governor Peter Unabia, this year’s observation of the National Tourism Week poses a serious challenge for the province known for its tourist spots but lacking in micro, small, and medium enterprise productivity.
A business tycoon himself, Unabia said it’s so disappointing to note that Misamis Oriental has 23 municipalities and two component cities yet it has no display of locally-produced food delicacies in the airports.
“You can see it for yourself when you go to the airports like in Laguindingan where locally-produced food items from Misamis Oriental are nowhere to be found,” said Unabia, fully aware that the local airport’s display of cashew nuts is from Cagayan de Oro City.
Also, the sweet pastel and world-renowned pineapple products are sourced from Camiguin and Bukidnon, respectively.
“I know that we have good ensaymada in Gingoog and tasty bibingka in Manticao, but make it the best and available that will stand out for marketability,” said Unabia during the Capitol’s flag-raising ceremony last Monday.
While agreeing with his wife, Erlinda ― lawyer Jeffrey Saclot’s co-chairperson at the provincial tourism committee ― that there’s still so much to be done for Misamis Oriental as a “gold mine” in tourism, Unabia said that micro-enterprise is a thing that must also be given with much consideration.
“We should generate income in every small way to deal with the pressing impact of the pandemic. And promoting and developing every potential micro-enterprise in each town of the province is one of them,” Unabia said.
Yvonne Y. Waga, assistant provincial tourism officer, said the tourism industry in Misamis Oriental is expected to flourish with governor Unabia giving his green light for them to continue its program which also enjoyed much support from the previous administrations.
“We have about 10 million budget last year and we’re excited with the budget deliberation in October as we’re confident that tourism will not be left behind,” Waga said.
Already, Medina town tourism officer Edan Mark Vosotros was elated with the success of the three-day Pagkaon Sa MisOr (Food in Misamis Oriental) Unlimited concluded on September 28 at the Ayala Mall in Cagayan de Oro City, showcasing different food delicacies.
For a start, the province has provided a P13,000 subsidy for the booth and the Pasundayag and Singing Ambassador presentations for every town.
This is on top of the P100,000 incentive each given to all of the province’s town and city participants.
The Provincial Capitol has also awarded cash prizes for the food display contest with the top winner getting the lion’s share of P30,000.
“Though private in nature, the (Small medium enterprise) in our town and other municipalities were given the assurance to avail of soft loan by the provincial government next year for them to improve their products. And it’s a welcome development considering it’s only the governor’s 100 days commemoration in October,” Vosotros said.
The now popular Ensaymada in Gingoog, Vosotros said, is actually manufactured in Medina.
“Gingoog City is only Medina Ensaymada’s marketing arm. And we have also the buko pie and ube pie that could really compete in the market,” added Vosotros.
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Unabia said he’s very particular about the return on investment, thus making agriculture and tourism as vital components in achieving goal-oriented productivity programs.
But Unabia is also looking ahead to next year’s challenge where he expects a 430-million plus budget cut for every province as the country is reeling from inflation, it is currently experiencing the worse peso devaluation in recorded history.
To this, the governor cautioned his wife-led Tourism Council to reconsider its planned trip to Singapore for bench-marking and educational tour.
While he understood that Singapore is a model for tourism activities, Unabia hinted that expensive travel may not be appropriate in this most trying time.
As the global pandemic cost some 4.2 million jobs in the Philippines, Unabia said the easiest way to recover is through agriculture and tourism activities as they also create job opportunities for the people.
“Yes, Singapore will not survive without tourism. But going there for exploration when the country’s economy is not yet stable may not be the right thing to do,” was his point.