ASEAN SUMMIT in CEBU

[Rance]

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CEBU: TOURISM HOTSHOT
Let province host 2006
Asean Summit, says Arroyo
by Kathy I. Navarro

MARVELING at the way Cebu has become a magnet for tourists, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she wanted the island to be a "showcase" of the country.

Half of 2.4 million tourists who visited the country last year went to Cebu, she said.

This year, tourism officials expect 75 per cent will head to Cebu out of a bigger volume of 2.7 million foreign visitors.

"Cebu's tourism is on a roll, in the front of great destinations. Not only the beautiful white sand beaches, the diving spots --correct, among the best spots in the planet are here, and the beautiful bird sanctuary in Olango Island," she said.

Arroyo attended the grand opening of the Hilton Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City and inaugurated an electric power facility.

Bird flu

Olango island, featured for years as an eco-tourism destination, is now the focus of growing public anxiety as a possible source of bird flu because of thousands of migratory birds that flock there.
Upon arrival at the Mactan airbase, Arroyo went to Olango island which she described as one of three important bird sanctuaries in the country.

"It is very important for us to protect our country from the Avian flu," she said. She said the country was lucky to have been spared from the disease for the past two years, considering that avian flu has already been affecting Asian neighbors.

Summit

Arroyo said the province was equipped with tourist facilities, improved peace and order, and stable power supply to host the Asean + 3 Summit next year.

It will be the turn of the Philippines to host the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and its three partner countries: Japan, China and South Korea.

"It's going to be a great summit, not only for Asean but for us," Arroyo said, "because Cebu is what we want to showcase what the Philippines can be."

The President noted the rise of new hotels in the province and urged local officials to build more tourism facilities.

The Hilton is the third five-star hotel to rise in Cebu.

Arroyo said she accepted the invitation for sentimental reasons. Hilton was the first hotel chain to operate in the country during the term of her father, the late president Diosdado Macapagal.

But the hotel pulled out at the height of the political turmoil in 1983, when Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated.

Arroyo assured Cebu would enjoy more stable power supply and not fear having major outages for the next five years.

She switched on two critical power projects yesterday-the P3.7-billion Leyte-Cebu Interconnection Uprating Project and the P2.06-billion Cebu-Mactan Interconnection Project.

These projects, which will draw power from a geothermal plant in Leyte, are expected to address the additional power demand in Cebu due to increasing economic activities.

Arroyo clarified, however, that if Cebu grows faster than expected, power supply would only be good for the next two years.

Beautify

Addressing the three-day Sangguniang Kabataan national congress prior to visiting Olango Island, Arroyo challenged youth leaders to launch major projects when they go back to their localities.

She said that when she took her oath of office in Cebu in 2004, local governments had conducted a clean-up drive to beautify their localities.

"We spent so little for the event (oath taking) because all the places have been cleaned up. No doubt, Cebuanos would do that, that Cebu would be very successful and cost effective," she said.

"We need to do this not only in Cebu but within the whole country-the face lifting and the beautification of the capitol and municipal halls in your locality."

[tolstoi]

soooows..ayaw nalang..sugaton nasad ni sa mga rallies..paka ulaw lang ta.

[UCAV]

Basta naa si PARIS HILTON mo adto gyud ko.....................

[arnoldsa]

This is nice for Cebu

[zengatsu]

soooows..ayaw nalang..sugaton nasad ni sa mga rallies..paka ulaw lang ta.

ok ra na bay..pa rallyha lang na cla..ayaw lang na pansina ilang mga rally2..kapoy nakau na cla uy..tabang lang ta kung unsa atong matabang para sa kaauhan sa sugbo ug sa nasod

[nunobone]

hehe i thougt "Cebu: Terrorism HOTSHOT host 2006.." heheh sowi.. neways..
mao number hitlist jud ta sa bombing... kuyaw mapareha sa bali, indonesia.. saonz.

[arnoldsa]

There should be:

More hotels for Cebu!

More improvements for the International Airport..!

[tolstoi]

more projects, clean-ups/preparations are set for the upcoming ASEAN Summit to be held in Cebu this DECEMBER..that means we'll be seeing a cleaner & more progressive CEBU in months time :mrgreen:


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Cebu City sets ‘cosmetic’ work

More road repairs, streetlights and repainting of public structures will be done in preparation for the Asean summit next year, amid suspicions of underground efforts to transfer the venue to Manila.

As he announced yesterday his plan to create a “cosmetic team,” Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will not meddle in the megadome or Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) issue since it will be built in Mandaue City anyway.

“We can’t help them on that because it will be there in Mandaue. Anyway, I thought the problem is the lot but it turns out it isn’t. I offered the SRP but I was misunderstood so I don’t want to have anything to do with it,” he told a news conference.

Cebu City also has no infrastructure that can be used for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December, Osmeña said.

As for the cosmetic team, the mayor said it will take charge of asphalting roads, street lighting and beautification projects in the city.

The team, though, will not cover eyesores. The mayor said he does not believe in hiding poverty in Cebu.

The City Government will also put up an entertainment center for foreign journalists who will cover the event.

The mayor told reporters of his plans amid suspicions that some National Government officials are working to transfer the venue of the summit to Manila instead of Cebu.

The national organizing committee reportedly lamented the lack of hotel rooms and facilities in Cebu that will ensure the successful holding of the summit.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb...etic.work.html

[websniper]

Kodus Cebu!

[fingolfin]

..yummy. we have 11 months to tidy up cebu. Our local government should put emphasis on seminars with the PUJ and Taxi drivers.