Palaweños have reason to be proud because their province has been dubbed the “most beautiful island in the world” in a recent US magazine article that focused on the island’s sheer perfection as a travel destination.
Being a Palaweño, we are doubly proud because Palawan has achieved an 80-percent increase in foreign tourists and visitors. Employment rate in our province has also increased by 163,000 since 2005.
Palawan is going great guns because everyone is involved—the government, the local government units, nongovernment organizations, the military and the people themselves—the presence of the New People’s Army notwithstanding. A manifesto recently issued by various public and private entities declared the province a “Conflict Manageable Area” and a “Zone of Sustained Peace, Development and Prosperity.”
The spirit that inspired this manifesto ties up with the integration program that provides livelihood, financial, education and training assistance to Palaweños, including members of the NPA, who may wish to start a new life.
—MA. ROSSANE GOSECO, gosecoma.rossane@yahoo.com.ph