MANKAYAN, Benguet – The municipal government will embark on the implementation of a sustainable tourism development program that will make the municipality one of the preferred tourist destinations not only in the province but also in the region to boost the town’s economic growth.
Mayor Frenzel Ayong said the municipal government welcomes the private sector to put up tourism-related facilities as part of its aggressive initiative to involve the private businesses in spurring the town’s city tourism industry which has been projected as one of the city economic drivers.
“We will continue to explore how the municipal government can maximize the income that can generated from the different income-generating potentials of the municipality so that we will be able to raise the bar of our economic prospects and enhance the growth and development of the different areas of the locality,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
The municipal chief executive pointed out that aside from enticing the private sector to infuse their required capital for the put up of tourism-related facilities in the different parts of the town, the municipal government is also working on the details of the proposed put up of a multi-story hotel and convention center that will be its economic enterprise .
According to him, many local officials from different localities inside and outside the region had been inquiring from him and proposing the put up of sufficient accommodation facilities and a convention center where they can have their regular gatherings in the municipality as they are convinced that Mankayan is a conducive place to hold such events.
Currently, Mankayan derives bulk of its income from the operation of large-scale mining companies that maintains its first-class status, although it is also promoting the growth of the agriculture sector, one of the town’s potential source of income, to sustain the abundance of fresh agricultural crops being sold inside and outside Benguet.
Ayong explained the need for the municipal government to put up its own economic enterprise in various forms aside from enticing the private sector to invest in businesses in the different parts of the municipality because these will help generate employment for qualified residents, increase economic activities, and improve sources of livelihood.
He asserted the municipal government will continue implementing other development projects, even venturing in economic enterprises for its constituents to generate additional sources of income as there is limited internal revenue from the national government and municipalities cannot be merely dependent on the IRA but to aggressively find ways to become self-sufficient.
By HENT