Borongan City mayor mulls hiring ex-rebels as tourist guides

FILE / Borongan Airport Facebook page

TACLOBAN CITY — Former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Borongan City, Eastern Samar may find themselves part of the tourism sector.

Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda pointed out that hiring former rebels who returned to the fold of the law as tourist guides is like hitting two birds with one stone – provide these surrenderees a source of income, and at the same time, make a very good tourism pitch.

In a Viber message to the Inquirer, Agda said social injustices including lack of job opportunities drove these former rebels into the underground movement.

“So I realized why not hire them as job order (workers of the city government)? This way, they will be given regular income and dignity of labor,” he said.
“Providing decent job to former rebels is a good story for tourism promotion,” he added.

READ: Eastern Samar opens sites to local tourists

As job order employees, the mayor said these former rebels could earn P320 a day. But of course, he added, they had to undergo training first before they would be allowed to handle tourists.

While the mayor had not disclosed when his plan would roll out, Agda earlier hired some former rebels as forest rangers who were helping him in his campaign against timber poachers and to protect the city’s forest cover.

Agda said he believed these individuals joined the rebel movement not because of ideology but due to poverty and lack of access to various government services and programs.

“By hiring them as workers of the city government, these former rebels could have a change of perception that the government is there to help them, especially after they left the armed movement,” Agda said.

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Since last year, more than 100 former rebels and their sympathizers in Borongan have surrendered to authorities.

This had led to a drop in the insurgency problem in Borongan, the capital city of Eastern Samar, said Brigadier General Noel Vestuir, commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade based in Borongan City.

He said the insurgency problem in Borongan and the rest of the province was no longer a major concern because a lot of rebels had surrendered.

The city government of Borongan was also bent on improving its tourism industry to generate income and provide jobs.

READ: Borongan City unveils new airport terminal

Among the emerging tourist attractions of the city is its surfing sports events and competitions that have attracted some of the best surfers in the country.

The latest tourism attraction being promoted in Borongan was its version of the “Sea of Clouds and Nature Park” in Barangay Hebacong, more than five kms away from the city proper.

The little Baguio of Borongan has gained the support of the Department of Tourism through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), which allocated P17 million for the construction of a view deck, coffee shop, cottages, and parking area.

The construction of these facilities are expected to start within the year.

READ: PAL to open Cebu-Borongan route

The interest in Borongan has prompted an increase in the Manila-Cebu-Borongan flight to thrice a week starting in July this year.

At present, Philippine Airlines (PAL) flies to the Eastern Samar capital twice a week.

More than 7,400 passengers preferred to take advantage of the flight, bypassing the Manila-Tacloban route.

“I am very happy that little by little, we have progressed in our flight bookings to the extent that there are times when flight schedules are fully booked during fiestas and Christmas season,” Agda said.

“I thank PAL for granting the additional flights for the Borongan-Cebu-Manila route and vice-versa. This will certainly boost not only the flight booking demands but also the value of our tourist arrival,” he added.