More roads to help Leyte's tourism: DPWH

CARIGARA, Leyte, Jan. 17  -- In a bid to keep tourism activities afloat, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be pouring in PHP131 million for two major road projects in central Leyte this year.

DPWH Leyte 2nd district engineering office chief Carlos Veloso said tourists may expect better roads going to tourist sites with the construction of more access roads.

One of the road projects leads to the Villaconzoilo Agri and Eco Tourism Farm and Silawa Falls located in Villaconzoilo village in Jaro town.

The project has a funding requirement of PHP85 million.

Villaconzoilo, an upland village, seven kilometers from the town center, offers farm tourism and fast becoming a favorite tourist destination among locals and foreigners.

Through the farmers’ organization, Villa Conzoilo Community Association, it produces high-value crops, including lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cauliflowers, rambutan, radish, asparagus, grapes and strawberries which are sold in shopping malls and hotels in the region.

The village, with a population of almost 400, is near Mount Amandewing or the Alto Peak, considered the highest point of the province and endowed with natural wonders and pristine, unspoiled environment.

On the other hand, Silawa Falls is nature’s jewel hemmed beside cloud-capped mountain ranges.

Wild animals roam its surrounding forest , making it a hunter’s paradise and home of endangered species both flora and fauna including insects, butterflies, deer, wild boar, monkeys and other different types of birds from the Central Amandewing mountain ranges .

Another tourism road project in the pipeline this year is the access road that will be constructed and improved leading to Calabato Hot Spring in La Paz town, which will cost PHP46 million.

Untouched and still undeveloped, few venture to explore the rough terrains going to the spring. A regular trek usually takes some four to six hours starting from the town proper which deters tourist from coming. Paving the road is seen to increase tourists and visitors to enjoy Calabato’s natural beauty in all its roughness.

“The road project is vitally important for the dispersal of tourists beyond major gateways and the facilitation of self-drive tourism,” Veloso said.

Veloso likewise vowed to aggressively implement infrastructure projects geared towards bringing livelihood and development to the countryside.

The DPWH has secured the backing of the national government in funding tourism support programs, allowing local communities, who are dependent on tourism, to earn more income. (ACR/PNA)