This Week in Palawan (July 27 to August 3, 2019)

thunderstorms are expected throughout the week, bring your umbrella when you go out. This is also the best time to curl up with a good book within the comforts of best cafes in Puerto Princesa City, or to sample a bowl of nice soup in popular restaurants in Palawan. Meanwhile, the day and night temperatures for this week range from 28°C to 28.3°C, and 27°C to 28°C, respectively. In related news, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) showed its readiness in responding during a calamity [2]. Earlier this July, the PDRRMO kicked off the National Disaster Resilience Month with a caravan showcasing the capacity of government agencies in terms of equipment and skills in times of disasters.

The Puerto Princesa City Traffic Management Office (CTMO) has continued its crackdown against trike drivers who overcharge commuters [3]. CTMO special operations officer Allan Mabella said there are still trike drivers rejecting passengers who don’t agree to pay them higher than the prescribed fares. Mabella said they will install signs bearing their hotline number in public places, so passengers can report the erring drivers to their office. He advised the complainants to get the color, as well as the plate and franchise numbers of the tricycles for the CTMO to identify and penalize them with a fine of PhP1,000. Mabella added they will also hold “an intensified education and information campaign in schools, barangays and transport groups to remind them (drivers) to follow the fare guide.”

Theme parks would soon rise all over Puerto Princesa City. This as the City Tourism Office (CTO) is shifting its focus on developing and promoting theme parks to diversify the tourism products it is offering to tourists [4]. CTO chief Aileen Cynthia Amurao said they have started it off by developing the 7.3-hectare Balayong Park since 2017. In full bloom from February up to the summertime, the Balayong or the Palawan cherry (Cassia nodosa) bears light pink and white flowers. “In two to four years, we expect the trees to bloom which will be like the ones in Sakura, Japan,” Amurao said. Once completely built, Balayong Park, which can accommodate up to 10,000 people at a time, will also feature a restaurant with view deck, museum and library, among other recreational facilities [5]. Amurao added that they are also planning to involve the 66 barangays by requiring them to have their own mini theme park, and make the city have the most number of theme parks in the country.

Provincial Board member Cherry Pie Acosta has passed a resolution requesting Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez to allot funding for the purchase of at least two sea ambulances to each of the 23 towns [6]. Acosta said the sea ambulance is crucial in the emergency rescue operations involving patients, especially those coming from island barangays and towns who need to be transported to hospitals in the city. As the sea ambulances will be stationed in public beaches and tourist destinations, she said these will not only benefit the locals but also tourists that require advance medication. Currently, Palawan only has two sea and 34 land ambulances that cater to all of its towns.

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