It had been going on for many decades. That is, the building of infrastructure to cope with the rest of the world. Thus, the thrust has already built a considerable momentum and is now in high rev with PDu0’s Build, Build, Build.
Not just cope with the rest of the world. It is also to open up the countryside to tourists—local and foreign— who should be coming to buy local products. But just like any new thing unexpected problems arise. These bugs have to be sorted out which take some time.
In this region, for instance, which is actually similarly situated with the other regions, perhaps with the exception of packets– the highly urbanized cities and well established destinations– there are very few products in the boondocks to buy. Go to a sari-sari store on a roadside in the middle of nowhere and what you see are the same junk food in city malls or groceries or stores but in much smaller volumes.
The town of Bauko, Moutain Province, is a case in point. With its dynamic and indefatigable Mayor Abraham Akilit who brought to town so many livelihood projects and exerted his best to promote the local tourist spots, the place is now starting to boom. The former Mountain Province General Hospital that occupies the best spot by the cross roads in the heart of the municipality has now become a regional health facility with a dialysis center, thanks to the effort of the late Congressman Maximo Dalog, thus even accelerating the development of that once sleepy community. Patients are now coming from nearby areas, all the way from the Ilocos provinces. And the tourists have started coming in their flashy vehicles because the road are now good.
Good news of course. But something did not move quite as fast. The people were not prepared enough to accommodate the tourists and visitors. There are not enough inns (what to speak of hotels) and offering home stay accommodations is not part of the people’s culture there, unlike Sagada where tourists have always been a part of their lives—they had inns then, now hotels are everywhere there and one even has a helipad.
So as far as taking advantage of business opportunities related to the influx of tourists and fast paced development are concerned, Bauko, Mountain Province is just a babe in the woods. No matter the effort of the Department of Tourism or the Department of Trade and Industry, it will take sometime. For nothing compares to actual learning from experience than any theoretical training the DOT or DTI might offer.
While Mayor Akilit’s order to his lieutenants is to search for moneyed people who trace their roots to Bauko to go there and invest in inns and restaurants, they would not be rushing like flood waters to fill the need. They will take their time for that is how things are. Even if Sagada is choking to death with so many tourists and it should be time to take advantage of the overflow.
Thus, if you intend to go to Bauko anytime soon, there will still be no good restaurant or inn, much less a hotel. It will take time.**