A television teleserye has unexpectedly developed a new tourist attraction in Benguet province, with Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines, serving as the jump-off point.
Hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns in Baguio City are getting bookings from Filipino tourists seeking to visit Sitio La Presa in Tuba, Benguet. The quaint village found near the peak of Mount Cabuyao in Tuba municipality is the site of the location shooting of Forevermore, the popular romantic comedy television series aired in the evening on free TV Channel 2 from Monday to Friday.
Tourists flock to the village to see for themselves the lowly abode of Agnes (played by Lisa Soberrano), the heroine in the TV series, and the strawberry farm she tends with her family. ABS-CBN Corp.’s TV series has developed a huge following, mainly because of the rich boy-poor girl romance theme of the show. La Presa tourists, who are now familiar with Agnes and Xander (Enrique Gil), the scion of a hotel chain and her romantic interest in the series, emphatize with her poor background, and perhaps want to experience the life of strawberry farmers as depicted in the melodrama hit.
But there’s more to Sitio La Presa and its surroundings, which tourists may want to learn. The road to the location site of Forevermore is surprisingly well-paved and offers a scenic view of Baguio City. Mount Cabuyao, commonly mistaken as Mount Santo Tomas (a taller mountain beside it), rises to over 2,000 meters above sea level.
A number of communications companies constructed relay stations at the summit of Mount Cabuyao because of its high elevation. Two of these big relay stations can be seen from Marcos Highway.
A private observatory and AA radar station, once operated by the US Armed Forces stationed in the Philippines, is also found here, where a small community of farmers live at the top of the mountain.
The two large satellite dishes at the summit have become a landmark in Baguio City. The summit offers a good vantage point for trekkers and bikers. One can see the whole city of Baguio to the east and partially see the province of Pangasinan to the west. One can also observe cargo ships sailing through the West Philippine Sea in a fair weather.