...the new tourism hub

Bulacan gears up for 'tourism explosion'

By Jacky Lynne A. Oiga

March 13, 2011

The young guns of Bulacan (photo by RUDY LIWANAG)

Watch out for a “tourism explosion” in the province of Bulacan in the next three years.

Just like the colorful Bocaue fireworks shooting across the horizon, Bulacan will soon be bursting out with new tourism sites to boost domestic tourism.

Dubbed as the ’Gateway to the North’, Bulacan can easily be the next best thing in travel and tourism with its close proximity to Metro Manila and a myriad of heritage and scenic spots. For the longest time, Bulacan  has been known as the seat of the First Philippine Republic , but to date, the province has evolved into more than that.

Aside from a string of private resorts and water parks scattered around the province, Bulacan is also blessed with natural resources just waiting to be discovered. Today, a string of tourism developments are in the pipeline to turn some of Bulacan’s most underrated municipalities from being mere stops along the way to full-blown destinations.

 

Spearheaded by the gregarious first- term mayors of the municipalities of Angat, Bulakan, Doña Remedios Trinidad, Pandi, and San Ildefonso, a new wave of eco-tourism sites, retirement havens, and historical spots will spruce up the local tourism industry in Bulacan not only during the summer season, but all-year round.

Angat: Ecological spots

Mayor: Gilberto ‘Reggie’ Santos

Municipality profile: The hilly and mountainous town of Angat is the smallest municipality of Bulacan with a total of 7,400 hectare land area and 16 barangays. Its major industries include farming, poultry and livestock raising, and concrete aggregates.

 

Popular tourist attraction: The hilly and mountainous town of Angat is known for one of the county’s largest dams, the Angat Hydroelectric Dam. The dam supplies potable water and energy to Metro Manila and nearby areas. The place is also ideal for fishing and boating.

 

Coming soon: Apart from the strong potential of Angat Dam and River as ecological sites, Mayor Santos is also looking to rehabilitate Pugpog River into an eco-tourism park for kayaking and other river activities.

Other plans and prospects: Mayor Santos’ vision for Angat is for the town to be known as an eco-friendly, clean, and safe destination. Being the smallest municipality, he aims to encourage more investors to provide more employment for the people. Healthcare and education are also his main thrusts.

 

Bulakan: Fusion of history and contemporary

 

Mayor: Patrick F. Meneses

Municipality profile:  The coastal town of Bulakan was the first capital of Bulacan Province due to its proximity to Manila and accessibility through Manila Bay. However, when the national roads were laid out, the town was left out of the way and the capital was moved to Malolos City. This first class municipality’s main industry is fishing.

Popular tourist attraction: The monument of Marcelo H. del Pilar – patriot, writer, editor of the revolutionary paper La Solidaridad – stands tall in this town where he lived most of his life. The shrine is under the management of the National  Historical Institute.

Coming soon: The municipality of Bulacan is replete with historical sites perfect for educational tours and heritage walks. In a few years, Mayor Meneses aims to transform Bulakan into a historical city complemented with economic developments through modern establishments and better road accessibility.

Other plans and prospects: Mayor Meneses’ long term project for Bulakan is to develop a port area that will ease seaport congestion in Metro Manila. He also seeks to generate more funds for river rehabilitation and port dredging.

 

Doña Remedios Trinidad: Retirement haven

Mayor: Ronaldo T. Flores

Municipality profile: The municipality of Dona Remedios Trinidad, was created on September 13, 1977 under Presidential Decree 1196, in honor of the late mother of former first Lady, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, who was a pure Bulakeña. It is the largest municipality in Bulacan with 93,296 hectares and the richest in terms of mineral reserve. Primary industry is exporting Iron Ores and Marbles.

 

Popular tourist attraction: The Puning Cave is a relatively untouched hidden spot in Doña Remedios Trinidad but it has been famous for adventure seekers. The cave is located on top of a mountain so one needs to trek mountain slopes and pass through a virgin rainforest that will lead to the cave.

 

Coming soon: Located in the mountainous area of Bulacan, Mayor Flores calls Doña Remedios Trinidad as the little Tagaytay of Bulacan. According to him, the climate and the panoramic landscape of their town is perfect for foreigners and balikbayans who choose to retire in the Philippines.

Other plans and prospects: Mayor Flores’ primary goal is to improve the standard of living of his constituents, improve the quality of education, and encourage more industrial investors.

Pandi: Wave Pool Capital

Mayor: Enrico A. Roque

Municipality profile:  Pandi is a second-class municipality located at the eastern part of Bulacan, 41 kilometers northeast of Manila. The town is slowly making a name for itself in weaving ready-to-wear Barongs. Other industries include farming, poultry, piggery, metal craft, and furniture making.

 

Popular tourist attraction: The Kakarong de Sili Shrine was the actual site of the Battle of Kakarong de Sili, the bloodiest revolution in Bulacan where more than 3,000 Katipuneros died. Likewise, it was on this site where the Republic of Real de Kakarong de Sili of 1896 was established.

 

Coming soon: During the summer of 2009 and 2010, Pandi was the second most visited town in Bulacan for its massive water park resorts that feature multiple wave pools. Mayor Roque is planning on turning Pandi into the wave pool capital of Bulacan. He also hopes that someday, Bulacan will be the new summer capital of the Philippines.

 

Other plans and prospects: Mayor Roque plans to make Pandi more progressive in terms of education. He wants his town to have more colleges and high schools to encourage his constituents to value the importance of education in social building.

 

San Ildefonso: Nature tripping

Mayor: Paula Carla G. Tan

Municipality profile: Years before Spanish colonization, the town of San Ildefonso was known as Bulak because of the abundance of Kapok trees (cotton trees) growing on its hills. For a while, producing cotton was the biggest industry in San Ildefonso but after the trees start decreasing, the people turned into vegetable farming. The town is now known as the Vegetable Capital of Bulacan.

 

Popular tourist attraction: The Church of San Ildefonso in Guiguinto, San Ildefonso is one of the oldest churches in Bulacan. It is said that the church and convent were built in 1691.

 

Coming soon:  Surrounded by mountains, San Ildefonso is blessed with a number of caves and natural springs. Mayor Tan is working on rehabilitating these areas for trekking, mountain climbing, and swimming in the springs.

 

Other plans and prospects: In line with her tourism development, Mayor Tan is also reviving the festivals in San Ildefonso like the Bulang-lang Festival and Bulak Festival to attract more domestic visitors. She is also looking into improving infrastructures and attracting more foreign investors in their town.