Sorsogon’s delights

To all my readers, a merry Christmas!

Sometime this month, my family paid a visit to the province of Sorsogon. It was to be a fun visit, a vacation of sorts.

All members of my family party flew via Legazpi airport to go to Sorsogon. My wife and I traveled by car, along 560 kilometers of roads.

The road travel took two days of daylight driving, which required an overnight rest in the city of Naga in Camarines Sur. For me, road travel adds to my learning on local and national economic developments.

Sorsogon province today. I was impressed with what I saw in Sorsogon during our four-day visit. The main provincial roads of the province are probably the best in the Bicol Region. I would not have said this statement if I had not traveled by road to get to Sorsogon province.

Sorsogon is less populated than Camarines Sur and Albay, and therefore the roads would be less traveled on as a result. The fact however is that the main roads are much wider, in good conditions, and much better maintained than in the two provinces.

In Sorsogon City, two non-transport improvements that impressed me are the athletic village and the new cultural museum.

With the construction of the large athletic complex, Sorsogon will emerge in the Bicol Region as the center for athletic games in the future.

The Museo Sorsogon was recently finished in quick time. It is a pet project, I am told, of former governor (now senator) Chiz Escudero. He dutifully implemented his mother’s passion for such a museum. The conception and displays in the museum was tastefully crafted with the help and support of the National Museum and the Historical Commission. The old provincial jail was moved out of the center of the city and the jail building was remodeled into a cultural center for the province.

We walked through the museum’s three stories. Each room presents a depiction of Sorsogon’s historical past, from the Spanish times to the present, with all its leaders depicted. The third floor also houses some promotional information on the products of Sorsogon province.

The beaches of Sorsogon. Sorsogon province has some of the most beautiful beaches in our country. These beaches are in pristine conditions and are hardly developed.

The likelihood that Sorsogon can develop its beaches for local and international tourism successfully is not a far-fetched idea if the essential private investments are made.

The improved access to the Bicol Region with the airport in Legazpi is a great boon to the province and to wider Bicol Region tourism. The presence of good roads is a great attraction toward such a future. Most important, Sorsogon has unique assets in its environs: the beautiful Mayon Volcano is within range of two hours by car and Mount Bulusan and its volcano and lake are in its immediate surroundings. Few provinces own such iconic attractions. Moreover, Sorsogon is a immediate transport link to the Visayas, through Matnog port.

We stayed in the area of Santa Magdalena where several beach resorts are located. The most developed among these is the Residencia del Hamor beach resort where we stayed.

There are many beach areas that are developed in separate parts of the province. The opportunities for snorkeling and scuba diving are plentiful. The Donsol beach area is famous for the whale shark (butanding) sightings.

We had an opportunity to wade against the surging surf at Siama in the municipality of Gubat. Facing the Pacific Ocean creates great opportunities for surfing if the locals learn how to reinvent the delights of Siargao (in Mindanao) along the coastlines of Luzon that Sorsogon can claim.

Sorsogon province, past and present. During one of my road trips to the Bicol Region a decade ago, I met Ester Hamor, then already the mayor of the municipality of Casiguran in Sorsogon.

(Ester, who has now become the elected mayor of Sorsogon City, the capital of the province, is a person I have known personally for many years, for she is my sister-in-law; her children are my nephews and nieces.)

The town of Casiguran in Sorsogon is located at the foot of Mount Bulusan. Its importance is that its main road is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway that leads to the port of Matnog, which is the ro-ro port that connects Luzon to the Visayas via Samar Island. That strategic location is a factor that helps the province grow economically.

As a novice mayor then of Casiguran, Ester was only too glad to summarize her accomplishments. In fact, Ester has proven to be an effective mayor. As a result, she won promotion from province-mates who overwhelmingly elected her mayor of Sorsogon City, the prime city of the province.

Under her leadership, Sorsogon City has surged forward. The city has undergone a facelift. The coastal road connected the west and east of the city. The coastal road became wider, more scenic and more functional. The city has received awards from the Department of Local Government that elevated its performance nationally. It has become a model city in the nation for good local governance.

As Casiguran mayor, she successfully enabled the widening of the segment of the Pan-Philippine Highway that passed through the town. Although such a project was a national project, local leadership in accomplishing it was important. Casiguran’s portion was the first in the province to be successfully completed. It became a model for other municipalities to follow.

Seeing with my own eyes the road widenings in 2014 quite created an impression on me.

Sorsogon for many years was one of the poorest provinces in the Bicol Region. The Bicol Region itself was relatively poor and backward compared to many provinces of the country. It was being bypassed by more prosperous regions in development. Perhaps, no longer!

During the recent governorship of Chiz Escudero, Sorsogon’s growth has continued. With his national prominence and connections to the political powers at the center, Escudero was able to secure funding for Sorsogon’s need. Now that Escudero has returned to the Senate, his ally, Jose Buboy Hamor, was elected governor. Ester, the mayor of Sorsogon, is married to Buboy. They make a political tandem working for Sorsogon’s future.

For archives of previous Crossroads essays, go to: https://www.philstar.com/authors/1336383/gerardo-p-sicat. Visit this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/