Dreaming of Baguio - adsforbaguio The sweltering heat that residents of Metro Manila, Cebu, and many other parts of the country have been enduring since the advent of the dry season last month often popped up the thought of going up to Baguio City. People cannot always work, sleep, and travel in an artificially air-conditioned environment. It would be unhealthy. And, with the electricity rates as high as they are, keeping the air-conditioner running the whole day or night would be unaffordable luxury. However, it’s difficult to concentrate on work while sitting on a desk, or manning a store counter with just an electric fan, which only circulates warm air. Last May 22, the hottest day in the country was recorded in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, at 39 degrees Centigrade. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) recorded the temperature in Tuguegarao at 33.6 degrees as of 11 in the morning of June 8. Temperatures were not so different in other places; it was 31.8 degrees in Cebu and 32.7 degrees in Metro Manila. In contrast, residents and tourists in Baguio City enjoyed a comfortable 24.4-degree weather on the same day, perhaps cooler in the evening. PAGASA forecast 24-hour weather beginning at 11 a.m. on June 8 at 16 to 23 degrees in Baguio. Other tourist hot spots were expected to be literally hot: 25 to 33 degrees in Boracay and 25 to 34 degrees in Cebu. Many people would have been driving up to Baguio to escape the heat, at least for the weekend, but the primary hindrance is the long travel time, which could stretch to a whole day for a round trip on private vehicles, longer on the passenger buses plying the route. That problem is being resolved by the TPLEX, or the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, an 88.85-kilometer, four-lane tollway that, when completed, will traverse 17 towns and two cities (Tarlac and Urdaneta) from Tarlac to Pangasinan and to La Union. Of the total length of the project, 23 kilometers (from Tarlac City to Paniqui, also in Tarlac province) are now open to motorists. By the end of this year, the expressway is expected to reach Rosales, Pangasinan. The final section to Rosario, La Union, is expected to be finished in 2015, three years ahead of the 2018 original deadline. The completion of the project is expected to drastically cut travel time from Manila to Baguio, which currently takes seven hours by bus, and five hours by car (with no stops), on the North Luzon Expressway and MacArthur Highway. In my view, cutting travel time will help Baguio City regain its reputation as the favorite summer vacation destination. In recent years, the City of Pines has seen a decline in tourist arrivals. With the shorter travel time, Metro Manila residents may even drive up to Baguio to spend their weekend and get a relief from the heat of the metropolis. TPLEX will also benefit the tourism industry and the economies of the communities on its route. The construction phase alone has reportedly created about 12,000 jobs. I have very often said that more infrastructure projects are what we need to spur development because it opens up provinces and regions to more investments and businesses which generate employment. TPLEX will benefit northern Luzon. I hope the government will push through with the plan to extend the South Luzon Expressway further down to at least Lucena in Quezon, to reduce travel time to the Bicol region. This will help maximize the tourism potential of the provinces of Camarines, Sorsogon, and Albay. When we build roads, we are not just building stretches of concrete or asphalt. We are building the path to our dream of progress, of a better life for our people. (For comments/feedback email to: mbv.secretariat@gmail or visit mannyvillar.ph)
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:22:41 +0000
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