TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte - The city government here is embarking on a multi-million-peso Ecotourism Park project that not only aims to protect the environment but also boost the rising tourism activities in this city. "As of now, we have already acquired seven hectares in San Agustin," Tagum City mayor Rey T. Uy told the Manila Bulletin in an interview at the Apo View Hotel in Davao City. Uy, a reelected mayor here who ran under the slate of President-elect Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, was in Davao City Friday to lecture "newly-minted" mayors from Regions 9 and 10 through a newly-elected officials (NEO) program initiated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). According to Uy, the concept of the Ecotourism Park will be similar to that of China's Window of the World - where an overlooking restaurant would be constructed at the highest peak. Cable cars traversing from the top down the valleys will hopefully be installed as well. As the city government here promised to nurture and enhance what nature has left them, Uy said the bedrock of constructing an ecotourism park is situated in the unforested areas of Tagum - in the hope to cover the city with forest. "Tagum has no green area, that's why we need the park," he explained. This city, with a projected population of 240,599 this year, has an annual budget of P750 million, where a part of it goes to "investment/tourism and cultural promotion and environment/shelter development. "The city spends P3 million for reforestation program. Various tree species like acacia, falcata, mahogany, and raintree are now continuously planted to maintain the protection of our environment," a statement from Tagum's General Budget Proposal read on its Web site. Meanwhile, the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project has cited this city as one of the 20 most viable and most competitive business sites in the Philippines in 2005. This city has become a bustling center of culture, commerce, health services, and entertainment in the Davao Region and in the whole Mindanao. Tagum is a part of Metropolitan Davao (Metro Davao) and the crossroad between all major cities in Mindanao.
