Gov. Mercado bares high-end development in Agas-Agas bridge
MAASIN CITY — The country’s tallest bridge will soon be installed with the country’s longest zip-line facility — and much more.
Aside from the kilometer-long air-borne slide thrill, which is a captive come-on for extreme adventure lovers, the vicinities surrounding Agas-Agas bridge in barangay Kahupian, Sogod, will have matching amenities like hotels, restaurants, even a gasoline station, to cater to the rest and relaxation needs of weary commuters and the travelling public, not just thrill seekers.
This was the futuristic vision shared by Gov. Damian Mercado in a casual chat this week with local media on the sidelines of welcoming the visitors from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
But first things first. Before this very exciting scenery can ever reach first base in actual development, the provincial government would secure a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said Gov. Mercado.
DENR is the government custodian of the timberland areas around the panoramic view as far as the eyes can see in Agas-Agas, while the DPWH owns the existing peripheral buildings and structures all around.
Gov. Mercado said the proposed MOA would stipulate the province’s intent on developing further the place which may involve a turn-over of the site altogether.
He was optimistic this can be done, citing as example the long stretch of lonely highway somewhere in Luzon which is now dotted with resting and eating places.
As it is, Agas-Agas bridege had attracted quite a number of visitors and curious onlookers — and has continued to attract — ever since it was opened to traffic following a drive-through inauguration by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on August 9, 2009.
With Gov. Mercado’s plan, investors on tourism-related business should now be on their toes for a slice in the pie should the vision becomes a reality soon. (PIA-Southern Leyte)
If we truly want to have high-end development in Agas-Agas Bridge and others in Southern Leyte, we can learn much from this video. There are so many ideas to learn from the Old Manila video, and apply them to Southern Leyte and the rest of Region. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. Let’s modify or improve and pursue the best using the natural resources we have at present, and working continually to seek and invite others to invest, tour, take a vacation and/or retire in our Southern Leyte.
Please watch the Old Manila video more than once, if possible:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibt8TpFHaLU&feature=fvw
@millennium:
at this time we need to do the basic / complex infrastructures
as suggested by mr yel cobile before you do those
high- end development in agas-agas bridge area.
first thing first.
We have mentioned in other comments before that in tourism industries for instance, we do not need even the more expensive infrastructures which Cebu, Bohol and Boracay islands have to attract their tourists and visitors. For a start, we have the years of experience with certain groups of people that will attend 8 successive days of conference every year.
To organize a conference of at least 500 people to start with, including some foreign visitors, we know of certain church groups that have the option to come to Maasin City every year. They always observe the annual religious festival which are observed by perhaps 100,000 or more people around the world.
From our experience for 7 successive years, our fellow conference attendees (composed of 700 to over 1000 people from the Philippines and some from other countries) and I attended the meetings at the Baguio Teachers’ Camp. The government-owned camp is 100 years old. It has the basic restrooms and showers, dormitories for singles and cottages for married people. It has a dining hall with a large kitchen, 2 lecture halls – one can accommodate to about 1,000 and the other one 500.
We have more seating capacity at the Maasin City auditorium in Tunga-tunga and the one next to the Capitol building near Paco. The lodging can be handled by several existing small hotels, inns and even residential homes (to be arranged in advance).
Now that we have the concrete roads and bridges and existing bus lines and taxi vans which can cover the tourists’ attractions in Region 8, and the pump boats to Limasawa and Canigao islands, the scenic waterfalls and caves, the historical landmarks, etc., we can do it. The church group do not mind the basic infrastructure and other facilities. They are more interested in getting away from the big cities to have a retreat for 8 successive days, which they call as the Feast of Tabernacles.
to travel from tacloban to maasin should be an option not a must.
they need to restore the inter island transportation between the
islands and have a functioning airport in maasin or anywhere i so.
leyte. make it easy for the tourist.
i personally like to go to bohol and northern cebu because its convenient.
Most tourists from abroad have a budget for inter-island flight. They can charter an inexpensive flight from Cebu-Mactan International Airport to Maasin City Airport which has been proven to be very efficient and fast. The chartered aircraft company also has a flying school. Their pilots and students regular fly to Maasin’s Airport as part of their training. The chartered and flying school firm has more than enough airplanes to carry the tourists and visitors to travel fast to Southern Leyte.
To those who have not read our comments and travel tips before, the chairman and CEO, Capt. J. Bahinting, is a personal friend of this writer for nearly 40 years. We first met as the same church meeting in Cebu City. Thus we highly recommend the chartered aircraft company and flying school to all tourists and visitors in the Philippines. Aviatour operates around 30 airplanes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YK-ztWpkt0
im sorry to tell you . not all tourist have budget for an inter island flight.
@luisa : before you say something not good, you must understand the reasons why people are doing those… of course some of those people can pretty well understand whose good or bad. for me lack of education and poverty are the reasons why they go for money “ibaligja and boto” so to speak. again, before you say anything harsh, my question to you, did you ever do something for southern leyte that can alleviate poverty and send those poor children to school? if the answer is no, i think you dont have the right to say so.
@7th mil : common, if the fares are going up because of high gasoline prices, how much more of those choppers. think think. think. millionaires maybe. if you say tourist they like experience, adventure, i think going to pier 1,2, 3 where a lot of “porter”, snatcher etc… then ride a bus going to the boat, watch people singing at the canteen, drinking expensive beer at 75 each. if you go to hilongos, wherein you will race to the bus or shuttle is more exiting than 3 or 5 people flying those choppers.
what you think, huh?
What other reasons why so many of these foreign students came to Aviatour in Cebu-Mactan International Airport to become pilots? One is they can learn how to fly and land several times a day in a safe airport which happens to be in our backyard or Panan-awan in Maasin City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUoj_rq8xT0&feature=related
You can send email to and ask Aviatour to find out how many tourists and visitors, local and foreign, hire its chartered services to fly anywhere in the Philippines including Southern Leyte and Leyte. That is first-hand information. Do not depend on others’ talks without direct knowledge as to the actual passengers or travelers to and from Leyte and Southern Leyte.
Of course, I know of some tourists who have the budget to fly anywhere in the Philippines, but they prefer to ride the inter-island shipping and the long-distance bus transportation from Metro Manila to as far as Ilocos Norte and down to Davao City or Zamboanga City in southern Mindanao.
You see there are different types of tourists. Some would like to see the whaleshark and undersea life and coral reefs in Southern Leyte. Some would like to see the ivory and white sandy beaches, the coral reefs and mangroves which we have in Southern Leyte. Some would like to climb up to Hanginan although one can hire a motorcycle or 4-wheel drive vehicle to go as far as the last base prior to going up to the chapel in Hanginan.
To contribute to the tourism developments in our province, let’s concentrate first our efforts and resources to the existing groups and individuals who can come or prefer to have an adventure in our region regardless of the lack of facilities.
para sa tanan,
i need someone`s help. honestly, i don`t pretend myself that i am just a plain housewife wannabe when it comes to handling computers. mao bitaw nga i have my own kay ako bana ug anak, they get nervous everytime mogamit ko sa ilang pc. ana na jud ug tigulang na diay no. so karon, i would like to ask someone kung kinsa ra gani tong ni post bahin sa personal record ni roger mercado? diin nakasulat nga councillor cj sa san fernando, isabela (is it located in luzon?). i just called up in maasin asking him about this report. he doesn`t know about this record,although, he knows nearly everthing what`s going on in maasin city/southern leyte. in this forum, i clearly declared that i am an active volunteer for noynoy and mar. at one point, i did announced that i am going to support dundeet , as she is in noynoy`s side. actually , i asked my family in maasin city asking them to whom they will gonna cast their votes( locally) to my surprised sa mercado sila. they have reasonable argument, so ako sila girespeto. pero paghuman naho open sa link ni roger mercado, disappointed jud ko kay ang gituohan sa ako family nga maajong tawo dili diay. infact it shows, makadatu jud diay ang politico sa ato kay ngano makabuhat man si oging ug pangilad sa mga tawo diha sa pilipinas(isabela ug southern leyte). i am sure, it will be now a big issue sa local politics sa ato.
Please…. whoever posted it, pakipost ug utro kay naglisod ko pangita asa rato dapit dinhi nga section. i want it will be copied and distribute to some people and the rest mouth to mouth info na. kay gusto ko nga naay taga ato makahibawo ani nga secreto aron dili sila blinded sa candiato nga ila gipili. after all sa mga voters choice na kon kinsa ila pili on. infairness to my family, wala naku mosupport ug local politiians bisan naa ko close ties relatives who run for the local election. lastly, calling southern leyte voters… please vote for noynoy and mar, they will clean the local politicians kon modaug sila, your hope, your chance for a change for an honest governance. pls send your anwers to my roaming number,00639089850336, thanks
just to correct my post. i didn`t call oging, i mean “asking him” meant for my good friend ,who is one of the incharged sa ako volunteer work para ni noynoy ug mar. i am sorry for my mistakes.
@7th millenneum:
di ba may plano to develop some kind of river in maasin with
engr. bascug. i cant remember , but i think it was posted in
SLT. i just came from san antonio , texas. they might want to get some idea from the riverwalk in san antonio. its really nice there.
to 7th millenium,
before you intruduce chartered planes sa maasin, which only like us, who lives a comfortable life can afford to do it, hunahunaa usa ang mga tawo sa ato. instead chartered planes, why not ask your politician cousins to restore the fast boat para sa maasin, medyo maka afford pa ang mga tawo. ako yearly muoli and my eldest daughter to visit my parents(not at the same time) gelisdan jud ko anang via tacloban, ormoc, baybay , hilongos ug bato nga way. hunahunaa nga dili lang comfort natu kon dili comfort sad sa taga ato kay mas daghan baja naglisod sa ato. ako bana dili na ganahan mouban nahu hasta gani amo duha ka youngest dili sija gusto ako dad on. he prefers to go singapore and hongkong bisan balikbalik basta outside sa pinas, safe ija bgbati ug ang transportation maajo(not to mention the airlines he loves most). tell you honestly, i was in thailand last year, mibisita ko sa ako wedding god mother who is a filipina, married to an scottish good year executive . abi nimo tua na jud sila nagpermanent residence ngadto kay tungod mas safe para sa mga foreigner ang thailand. before they went to thailand, her husband was assigned for 4 years sa manila ang mind you, nagpujo sila sa forbes park and even they have rented a house worth 400,000.00 pesos a month. so one of they few nga makabajad sa chartered plane, kay tungod wala airport para plane , airport r para kabaw sa ato wala sila molahos sa akong imbitasyon last year. so to speak… i told my husband that thailand is a very lovely country and safer for the foreigners to live in (sa ako experienced and according 2 my ninang who bought a beautiful house there). without hesitation miingon sija adto nalang ta sa thailand mokuha ug second residence pohon makahuman mga bata sa school (university) kay sa maasin wala moy convenient access sa air and sea transporation. imbis city na ang maasin manilingan naman nuon ta ug sakay sa mga fast craft. ikaw before ka mo mention ug dinagko hunahunaa usa ang kahimtang mga tawo sa ato nagsalig lang ka kay imo family naahan man( ? probably not all are honestly acquired) how about sa uban, naglisod gani paeskwela sa ila mga anak aron makalampos. manghinaut lang ko nga inig kahuman sa road and bridges project sa imo cousins mo focus ug mohatag ug interest sila sa mga school building kay i tell you disgusting kaajo ang mga school sa bukid area. i hope nga daghan ka ug projects sa ato , scholars gisuportahan kay ug manulti ka dinagko man kaaj, kay kining ako naa pero sa ako ra maabot but non stop. i am sorry, if i offend you but i hope not.
@ncode
nicely said . i agree with you .even my kids dont want to home to southern leyte
kay inconvenient jud ang transpotation .they went instead to the great barrier reef
and the gold coast in australia for three weeks.
@ncode
what i do is rent a condo for two weeks to a month in cebu ,sa mactan island
and invite my folks and hire a driver. to drive us around.we have a wonderful
time
@ncode:
Following is the link that you were seeking. I hope it helps.
http://www.i-site.ph/Databases/Congress/13thHouse/personal/mercado-personal.html
Here’s another link for you to muse upon:
http://www.lpp.gov.ph/GovernorsProfile/mercado.html
da gipangapoy na. paholay sa.
voting public . do not be fooled anymore.
to abi,
yeah the last time i was there together with my family, we stayed for a week in maasin then we went to plantation bay in mactan for 2 weeks. afterwrds, we pursued our travel to singapore , hongkong, shanghai and back to the pinas. you know my parents are both middle 80`s , so they don`t like to travel anymore. i hope 1 day mabalik na jud ang ang fast craft kay it is so shameful to call maasin a city ,when infact, it is situated near by the sea,has her own port walay fast craft, unja naay barko dili everyday ang operation, way shopping center nga mo accept either credit cards or cash cards. maasincity is really far behind ang progress kay sa ormoc. well, i hope that this will be the first priority project that 7th mil. will address to his govt and cong. cousins kay necessity para sa mga taga maasin city ug taga southern leyte ug affordable pod sa tanan, compared to 7th mil`s previous proposal. in this case southern leyte can attract tourist visitors. thank you for paying attention to my post.
to maasin sentinel,
thank you. i opened the link of your first post and it is written santiago city. where is this city located? did i read it before isabela (luzon region). it is not stated anymore where santiago city belongs. i called my family advising them to check the record because actually, they will gonna vote for the mercadoses. it was ok for me, but now, i would not accept that one of my family will favor dishonest people. blankohan nila ang voting cards way pelion ipalabon sa laing tawo nalang. i heard that there is another maasin newspaper who is not connected sa taga mercado and i hope kining reporter online wala sad gipaboran nga political party. thanks again.
@ncode:
This link I posted above, http://www.lpp.gov.ph/GovernorsProfile/mercado.html, shows blatant and fraudulent disclosure of Damian Mercado’s scholastic qualifications. I, for one, who knows him can readily vouch that he is a high school drop-out – did not even get up to 3rd year high school. He barely passed 4 subjects in First Year HS, then had a couple of subjects in the Second Year while dropping the rest. So, in light of his thick-skinned personal dysfunctions, one can ask as to how he could have attained a B.S. in Civil Engineering, and have the sheer audacity of allowing his bogus information to be posted on the Internet. He is not just “BULOK” but also “HAMBUGERO”!
I have heard through the grapevine that a particular website is coming up which will be broadcasting major offical malfunctions of the Mercado brothers and their henchmen. It seems that the site’s disclosures will include alleged covert and/or illicit monetary transactions involving price and/or contract rigging. I hope the website soon emerges for the people to see before the upcoming election. You can tell your relatives that their parochial support of the Mercado political ticket just helps the continuous downfall of our province’s economic status. Their ignorance to the negative economic issues in our province have made them numb of the pain and suffering of the young generation who simply wants to enjoy the fruits of honest and “good governance” as well as “socio-economic progress”. I think these two quoted words are also very prevalent in Taga_Maasin and Daniel Espere’s banter. Of course, not to mention Mr. Yel Cobile who has yet to post his viewpoint in this website. (However, though, I think he does not want to do it as the Mercado brothers are his cousins.) Well, I don’t blame him. He’s just probably trying to avoid getting shot back by anti-Mercado bloggers. Oh well…
Do you know that a business person, celebrity or individual with contributions in kind or money to an educational institution, society or country can be given honorary degrees from Bachelor of Science or Arts to Doctorate in Humanities, and other fields of endeavor? All you need to do is search for them in Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com, etc. if you need to know “who is who” in R.P. or another country.
@ 7th miil.,
did you cousins Mian mercado apply for that doctorate of humnities,
he has the money. but no B R A I N. didnt even finishes high school.
what are you suggesting.
his only invention is dont know sabong. maybe.
i am wondering why my post is refused to be posted? tell me if i made a mistake because i don`t hesitate to ask for forgiveness. we are only humans to commit mistakes. why? others can post but not me anymore. thanks