Saguday, Quirino – To maximize the potentials of this municipality, Mayor Marcelina Pagbilao has developed an eco-tourism park to add value to the visitors’ experience here.
“I have personally initiated an eco-tourism park project since last year with so many other goals for the town of Saguday, where numerous possibilities and hopes are found amid a naturally beautiful place with kind and humble people,” she said in a statement.
“Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good. This quote by Jochen Zeitz encourages every human being to not just slouch on their seats but to continually create methods that are helpful for the natural resources in every possible way,” Pagbilao said.
“Time is changing so fast and so with the urbanization, giving way to more pollution. Therefore, there is a need to promote the welfare of the people as well as the resources,” the mayor added.
The project also aims to give opportunity to locals to get involved not only in the preservation and maintenance of the place but also to maximize the benefits of the local community in terms of their products and services, she said.
“After all, this is a wonderful correlation of humans with nature that I have always hoped for,” the mayor stressed.
Tourism Officer William “Bill” Doria said the Eco-tourism Park sits on 15,118 square meters and presents its natural scenery “for visitors to fall in love at first sight.”
A day-long itinerary will give visitors a satisfying tour within Barangay Cardenas. A rice field, a fishpond, a wide plantation of huge mango trees, a vegetable farm, a fascinating multi-function hall and other necessary structures, and a hill planted with sunflowers “will surely become a complete head-turner,” Doria said.
“With the programs and activities facilitated by the Task Force Kalikasan, an organization that implements the policies for the maintenance of environmental protection, a well-secured eco-tourism park of Saguday is in good hands,” Mayor Pagbilao emphasized.
With the tagline, “Tatak Saguday, Serbisyong Mahusay,” this project will consequently leave a remarkable legacy of the mayor’s term of service for the Sagudayeños, Doria added.
In collaboration with the stakeholders, the eco-tourism project will serve as an entry to the multiple awards like the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) – of which Saguday is already a Grand Slam awardee, with 5 awards in a row from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — the Gawad KALASAG, and the Rafael Salas awards, the mayor said.
‘Welcome Sagudayeá¹…os and Visitors! Dumanun Kayo Apo!’ Pagbilao stressed.
The mayor thanked the support of the LGU Saguday, the provincial government, which assists the development of infrastructures based on the tourism plan of the Municipal Engineering Office, and other stakeholders such as the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), Civil Society Organization and Task Force Kalikasan.
Saguday is noted as the “Rice Granary of the Province of Quirino,” and boasts fertile trees along its Main Street and thoroughfares connecting its barangays. The town has been recognized as the province’s cleanest and greenest municipality from 1995 up to the present.