Balanga City Bataan newest bird watching site in the Philippines
Posted on July 23, 2008
BALANGA CITY, Bataan, July 21 (PNA) — Balanga City has been included as one of the birdwatching sites in the country, City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III announced Sunday. The mayor said that an inspection team arrived Friday in Balanga City and visited the seaside villages of Tortugas, Puerto Rivas Ibaba, and Sibacan.
The team was composed of officials from the Department of Tourism, tour operators and the Wild Birds Club of the Philippines. Stanie Soriano, manager of DOT’s Corporate Relations Department, said that their agency will include Balanga City in the first volume of their Birdwatching Guidebook.
“It will be a worldwide promotion that DOT will undertake and it will begin with the production of the guidebook to be out by September this year to show foreign tourists various birdwatching destinations in the Philippines, Balanga City included,†she said.
Other birdwatching sites are the Paranaque Critical Habitat in Las Pinas, Mt. Palay-Palay National Park in Ternate, Cavite; Villa Escudero in Laguna, Nug-As Forest in Alcoy and Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, both in Cebu; Philippine Eagle Center in Davao, Candaba Swamp in Pampanga, Subic Bay in Olongapo City, Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos and Mangrove Marine Protected Area I in Bani, both in Pangasinan; and Rasa island and Puerto Princesa Subteranean River National Park, in Palawan.
She said the department is focusing on birdwatching this year under its Adventure Philippines Campaign.
Dr. Joey Soriano, a member of the Wild Birds Club, said the proposed bird sanctuary in Balanga City will have an area of about 100 hectares consisting of mad flat (exposed portions of the seashore where birds feed), viewing deck, heights and picnic huts.
“Birdwatching in the Philippines has a bright prospect because there are birds here that are endemic in given areas that will attract tourists from England, Germany, United States, Scotland and South East Asian countries like Singapore, Thailand and Japan,†he said.
He said that foreign tourists in groups of five to ten spend from US$ 5,000 to US$ 7,000 each in birdwatching activities.
The doctor said small groups are preferred so as not to drive away the birds. Rudy de Mesa, administrator of the Balanga City government, said the bird sanctuary is under the Bay Park project of City Mayor Joet Garcia. “Like President Arroyo, our mayor has a 10-point agenda, the Bay Park included,†he said.
Elsa Ilagan, city planning officer, said initial funding for the Bay Park is P30 million with P15 million coming from the city government and P15 million to be sourced from the Philippine Tourism Authority or the DOT itself.
The planning officer said the construction of a viewing deck that plays an important role in bird watching was budgeted for P5 million. (PNA)
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