A transformation from ‘Red’ to green for Bondoc

LUCENA CITY – After living with the image as bastion of communist New People’s Army rebels since the late 1970s and a hot spot of agrarian disputes, the Bondoc Peninsula is now transforming itself as a virgin eco-tourism paradise in Quezon province.

On Friday, officials and residents of Bondoc Peninsula, with policemen and soldiers, started the “Green Mile Tree Planting” project, a simultaneous road-side tree planting activity along the 265-kilometer stretch of the peninsula’s highway, which covers the third district of Quezon.

Bernardita Pascual, a village health worker in Barangay Nag-Crus in Pitogo town, led a group of villagers in planting acacia seedlings.

“We will take care of the trees to make sure that they grow to provide shade to weary motorists in the future,” Pascual said.

The area, or “BonPen” as it is now famously known, comprises the 12 towns of Padre Burgos, Agdangan, Unisan, Pitogo, Macalelon, General Luna, Catanauan, Mulanay, San Narciso, San Francisco, Buenavista and San Andres.

Similar activities were launched on Friday on the road sides of the 12 towns, according to Gov. David Suarez.

“BonPen is no longer the same Bondoc Peninsula of the past,” said the governor. “That is now history.”

At the start of his administration, Suarez launched a massive reforestation project aimed at planting a million trees to cushion the impact of global warming.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources provided the seedlings for the project.

Before the highway was completed in 2002 upon the initiative of current House Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, people from southern parts of the district traveled by boat to Lucena City.

BonPen still lacks facilities like hotels, inns, and other tourism infrastructure.

But for most tourists, especially foreign guests, the absence of modern amenities makes the place truly a nature’s haven.

Suarez said the provincial government has been receiving queries on the business potentials of BonPen.

The province’s third district faces Tayabas Bay and Ragay Gulf dotted with coastal towns rich in colorful history and cultural traditions.