Pagadian City Vows To Become Regional Trading Hub

ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR (Zamboanga Journal) Pagadian City, the provincial capital of Zamboanga del Sur, has began a massive and ambitious development project aimed at turning the once sleepy mountain enclave, into a bustling trading and government regional center in the southern Philippines.

Home to about 160,000 people, Pagadian -- with a total land area of 37,880 hectares and 13 urban and 41 rural villages -- is one of the most vibrant and promising cities in Mindanao, said mayor Samuel Co.

He said the aggressive increase in development projects were triggered by the recent transfer of major government regional agencies from Zamboanga City to Pagadian.

And also the impending relocation near Pagadian of the Southern Command, the largest military installation outside Manila, now based in Zamboanga City.

"We have allocated hundreds 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 the Zamboanga Journal.

He said Pagadian is currently working on a P115-million fishing port complex, the P64-million public market. It has recently inaugurated a P14-million integrated bus depot.

Co said they will also planning to put up a multi-million fruit processing plant.

"Oh, we have a lot of work to do. Right now, we are busy on some development projects and we are also working on how to improve our ecotourism program," he said.

Co said he also introduced the use of water wheels to generate electricity for farmers in far-flung villages.

"Farmers are happy about the water wheels. Before they only see them in books and television, but now we are using water wheel to generate electricity in remote villages," he said.

He said the local airliner Asian Spirit has opened new passenger flights between Manila to Pagadian. "We really worked hard and negotiated for this, and the Asian Spirit now has regular flights from Manila to Pagadian and back," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the transfer of all regional government offices and agencies to Pagadian to make transactions easy to other provinces such as Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur that comprise 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 they paid the rental of regional government offices for six months as a gesture of goodwill to welcome the thousands of new tenants.

Co said the regional Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Philippine Coconut Authority are now in Pagadian City.

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, he said, to lure them into opening trades in Pagadian or make the city a business gateway to other provinces in the region.

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.

The internationally renowned Pagadian Kumbingan Ensemble, a cultural and creative dance group, won many accolade during its latest performance 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 Kumbingan Ensemble performed folk and traditional Muslim dances, and was critically acclaimed by international artists.

In December, Co brought his cultural pride in Zamboanga City for the annual mardi gras called the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival and was highly acclaimed for their dance performances.

He said they have set aside unspecified funding for the trainings and costumes not only of the Kumbingan Ensemble, but other cultural groups also.

"Pagadian is one of the country's show windows and everybody is really working hard to promote tourism and attract investments, not only in my place, but in the southern region as well," he said.

Pagadian is popularly called the "Little Hong Kong of the South" because of its rolling terrain, reminiscent of the former Crown colony.