BROOKE’S POINT, Palawan — The municipal government here is planning to purchase around 10 hectares of land for the development of a Durian Park as an additional tourist destination.
Municipal councilor Bernardo Abengosa, the Sangguniang Bayan’s tourism committee chairman, said P1.8 million have been set aside from Brooke’s Point’s 20 percent development fund. The land is located at Sitio Pangatleban in Barangay Ipilan.
“Nanggaling sa 20% development fund ang pondo na P1.8M for almost 10 hectares para sa panibagong tourist attraction na durian park,” Abengoza said.
Mayor Mary Jean Feliciano said they were encouraged by the national government to promote farm tourism as an attraction that can at the same time help ensure local food security.
“Farm tourism ang ini-encourage sa buong bansa, busog ang mata at tiyan. Unlike yong mga destination na magandang scenery lang ang pinuntahan na tao, kapag napuntahan na minsan, hindi mo na babalikan dahil nakita mo na. Pero sa farm tourism, kapag nasarapan ka sa kinain mo babalik-balikan mo ng kahit ilang beses,” said mayor Feliciano.
Feliciano said the durian farm will be patterned in a plantation in Indonesia that attracts visitors from all over the world.
She said she was inspired by how the Indonesian government has made its park into a tourism destination.
“Since Brooke’s Point ang pinanggagalingan ng mga durian, rambutan, duku at iba pang high-value fruit trees dito sa Palawan, kaya dapat suportahan ng local government unit (LGU) para dumami ang turista natin,” she said.
She said Pangatleban is also ideal for the project because the soil in the area is good for fruit trees and where native durian trees grow in abundance.
“Perfect ang Sitio Pangatleban sa Ipilan kasi may mga native durian doon at marami ng nakatanim na prutas. Ibig sabihin suited ang lupa para sa project,” she added.
Aside from the durian farm, Abengoza said they also want to turn the place into a botanical garden since it is also home to a lot of first growth trees.
“Mayor Jean also likes the integration of a botanical garden to this project and naming of different trees to educate young and old alike na tourists. Another tourist destination soon is the Eco & Agri-Tourism in Brooke’s Brookes Point na sisimulan ngayong tag-ulan,” he said.
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