MANILA, Philippines - The 2013 Sillag Festival was held recently at the fast-growing Poro Point Freeport Zone (PPFZ) in San Fernando, La Union with tens of thousands of tourists from various parts of the country in attendance.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said the Sillag Festival is La Union’s counterpart to Baguio City’s Panagbenga and Clark’s Hot Air Balloon Festival, both of which were initiated by BCDA.
Sillag, an Ilocano word which means moonbeam, is a Festival of Lights and is seen to complement perfectly La Union’s famous beaches as a major tourism draw. More than being a tourist attraction, Sillag showcases BCDA’s PPFZ as an investment hub.
PPFZ is managed by the Poro Point Management Corp., a member of the BCDA group. PPMC is chaired by Ives Nisce, a respected businessman and Northern Luzon’s most prominent banker, with Florante S. Gerlan as president and CEO.
Strategically located in San Fernando, La Union PPFZ is the country’s gateway to Northern Luzon. The Freeport has a twin infrascture jewel – the San Fernando International Seaport and the San Fernando Airport.
The PPFZ has a six-hectare lighthouse property that serves as a vital component of an integrated tourism complex. Plans are underway to redevelop the San Fernando Airport to include an airport mall.
The Freeport is also home to a five-star facility – The Thunderbird Resort – a Pagcor-licensed casino and a nine-hole golf course with definite plans to expand it and make it all of 18 holes.
“The Freeport has yet to reach its full potential as it has yet to maximize the presence of both seaport and airport in attracting investments and generating tourists,†Casanova said.
He said the key is to create different economic hubs in BCDA areas and make them work together and complement each other to increase business, tourism, trade and investments in not just one facility but in all of them.
“BDA’s centerpiece infrastructures consisting of the San Fernando Seaport and Airport in Poro Point, Clark International Airport, and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac (SCTEX) will be further developed and harnessed to bring the greatest impact to the national economy,†Casanova said.