PAGADIAN, 22 August 2005 — Pagadian, the provincial capital of Zamboanga del Sur, has began a massive and ambitious development project aimed at turning the once sleepy hamlet into a bustling trading and government regional center in the southern Philippines.
Home to about 160,000 people, Pagadian is one of the most vibrant and promising cities in the south with a total land area of 37,880 hectares and 13 urban and 41 rural villages, city mayor Samuel Co said.
The aggressive increase in development projects were triggered by the recent transfer of major government regional agencies from Zamboanga City to Pagadian, and the impending relocation near Pagadian of the military’s Southern Command headquarters, the military’s largest installation which also based in Zamboanga City.
“We have allocated tens of millions of pesos to fund new infrastructure projects and the development of the regional center, the rehabilitation of our air and sea ports and the renovation of government buildings and sophisticated communications and other I.T. projects that would put Pagadian in the map of developed cities, not only in the Philippines, but also abroad,” Co told Arab News.
He said the local airliner Asian Spirit would soon fly between Manila to Pagadian. “We really worked hard and negotiated for this, and probably starting next month the Asian Spirit would begin its regular flights,” he said.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the transfer this year of all regional offices and agencies to Pagadian to make access of government transactions easy to other provinces such as Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, that constitute the Western Mindanao region.
Arroyo’s decision to transfer the regional offices was based on Executive Order 429 issued by then President Corazon Aquino in October 1990. Co said the provincial government will shoulder the rental of regional government offices for six months as a goodwill gesture to the thousands of new tenants.
Agriculture and fishery are the main sources of income of local residents, but Co said the city is being groomed to become the region’s main source of mango and seaweed capital.
“Fishing is a major economic activity and also lumber processing due to the peninsula’s excellent stands of Philippine hardwoods,” he said.
An attractive investment package would be offered to local and foreign business groups and the city would soon link up with international trading associations in Southeast Asia to lure them to Pagadian, he said.
Designated as a chartered city in June 1969, Pagadian is also an important processing center for rice, corn, and coconuts produced in surrounding areas, Co said. He said Pagadian is also known for being the “undisputed” cleanest and greenest city for several years now by different civic groups.
“We have an excellent ecological solid waste management program, watershed management program, and a massive beautification project for the different villages, among others,” Co said.
He said his administration is also working on an ambitious tourism project that would attract not only Filipino visitors but also foreign tourists.
“Aside from being peaceful, Pagadian prides itself with many pristine and white sandy beaches. We offer our rich cultural heritage, our exotic foods and the kind hospitality of our people,” the 39-year old mayor said.
Co said the internationally renowned Kumbingan Ensemble, a cultural and creative dance group based in Pagadian, was invited to perform in the recent Singapore Street Festival. The event gathered Asian cultural artists and workers in a one-day festival of performances and cultural exhibitions as part of the annual Singapore Arts Festival.
The group, he said, performed Philippine folk dances and Moro (Muslim Filipino) dances from the South, and was critically acclaimed by international artists.
Pagadian is called the “Little Hong Kong of the South” because of its rolling terrain, reminiscent of the former Crown colony. Shops and restaurants also litter the city, said Co.
