Longer runways, more roads to rice terraces

Richard Gordon, Tourism Secretary, has vowed there will be more runways and roads leading to the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces, country's northern summer capital.

Gordon said most of the $1.32 million (P66 million) promised by the government for the rice terraces will go for the works on roads and airports to bring in more tourists to Banaue.

He said this is the best way to bring in tourists to northern Philippines. Banaue Rice Terraces are a thousand year old destination of the country. The Bagabag Airport in Nueva Vizcaya, about one and a half hours away from Banaue, will be made available to small planes by 2003. Air Transportation Office by the year 2004 will be asked to lengthen Bagabag's runway to accommodate 737 airplanes.

Gordon explained the budget includes the rehabilitation of the existing Baguio-Ambuklao-Nueva Vizcaya road, as an alternate going to Baguio City and Banaue.

The first phase of the security project will also start at the Bontoc-Banaue Road as earlier a German couple was kidnapped and robbed in the area in June.

At the same time the infrastructure development leading to the rice terraces does not mean there will be an overload of tourists to the area.

He maintained, "Let's just not overload the destination. We cannot overload Banaue and nearby areas."

There will also be a campaign to preserve the indigenous knowledge that helped shape the cavernous Banaue Rice Terraces. "The technology of the building of the rice terraces should not be lost to the younger generation. The effort is largely cultural with the ongoing infrastructure projects in the northern Philippines."

He said of the government's $1.32 million (P 66 million) funding, $1 million (P 50 million) will come from the National Committee on Culture and the Arts, $200,000 (P10 million) from Department of Tourism and $25,000 from the Unesco.

Gordon also said Filipinos must practice a 'culture of tourism'. "We have to think of how we can expose more people to the way of life in Ifugao," he said in reference to the criticism he received for a plan to bring ethnic dancers and sculptors from northern Luzon, to Manila's Intramuros.

Silvestre Afable Jr., Acting Presidential spokesman said President Arroyo is thinking of declaring the Banaue Rice Terraces as a national agricultural project. He said, "This will help showcase of tourism and culture in the Cordillera."