Not many people know about Liloan municipality in Cebu.
That was, of course, until its very own mayor, Christina Garcia-Frasco, was chosen by President Bongbong Marcos to head the Department of Tourism.
Liloan is actually a first-class municipality in the northern part of Cebu which is best known for Titay’s Liloan Rosquillos. Back in 1907, then 21-year old Margarita “Titay” Frasco started a product that would put her little town both in the national and international map of gastronomic delights. It was then Cebu governor and later president Sergio Osmena who reportedly gave it the name “rosquillos” after the Spanish word rosca.
Now, Liloan Mayor Aljew Franco, the cousin of Christina’s husband and Cebu 5th district Rep. Duke Frasco, who is the fourth generation custodian of the secret recipe to Titay’s rosquillos cookies. Aljew is also the CEO of Titay’s and is tasked to make sure that the famous rosquillos of her Mama Titay stays as tasty.
According to Mayor Aljew, the demand for their products, which include other delicacies, is so huge even within the province alone that they can barely keep up since everything is made by hand.
But with new machines that he had commissioned to be fabricated abroad and are coming in soon, Titay’s can make more cookies faster. In fact, the mayor shared with this writer that this would help them export their products. The Japanese, he said, are so enamored with the taste of the rosquillos and want to import it.
Recently, Liloanons have another reason to be proud of their town.
Cebu-based Duros Group, through its unit Duros Hotels, officially opened One Tectona Hotel last Feb. 24, the first 4 star hotel in Liloan. It is located inside Duros Land’s flagship project Woodland and is only 14 kilometers away from Mactan International Airport.
One Tectona, located in Yati, Liloan, would surely attract golfers, both local and foreign, since it is a stone’s throw away from the par-72 championship golf course Liloan Golf Club, which was developed and designed by no less than avid golfer and Duros Land chairman Rafaelito Barino. Only nine holes are playable at the moment, but all 18 holes are expected to be available for play by May. In the meantime, there’s the Woodlands Golf Academy for those who want to hone their golfing skills or for those who are just taking up the sport.
Duros’ first subdivision project, WoodLand Park Residences, opened 12 years ago and was immediately sold out. Meanwhile, the golf course project began in 2014 and was made available to Woodland residents as well as the public. This was followed by the opening of the 102-room One Tectona, the first premium golf destination hotel in that part of the province.
But this is just the beginning.
Lito Barino revealed that Woodland Resorts, which will be the name of the entire development covering a land area of around 300 hectares of which only 40 percent will be developed to give the residents more open spaces and better living conditions, will soon become the residential and leisure destination hub of choice.
A high-end subdivision called Lataban Estate covering 80 hectares will be developed where lots only will be sold. Then on another side, there will be five mid-rise residential buildings which will have the ambience of a tropical resort. Meanwhile, after One Tectona, there will be around six more Tectonas to be built, as well as a convention center. Near the golf course is a Golfers Village covering five hectares which will soon have its second phase. There is also its Bay-Ang Ridge Subdivision, another project of Duros Land Properties, also located in the highlands of Liloan.
But the Duros Group of Companies’ business, under the leadership of chairman Lito and president Fe Barino, extends beyond Liloan. It also owns the Cebu Quintessential Hotel and will soon develop a resort community in Daan Bantayan. One of its units, Duros Development Corp., is also one of the biggest construction companies in Southern Philippines, having designed and constructed several infrastructure projects that include roads and bridges.
But more than their huge success in business, husband and wife Lito and Fe are even prouder of the Rafaelito and Fe Barino Foundation which is involved in drug rehabilitation work as well as skills training. The Love of God Community was also organized with the spouses as presiding shepherds as well as incorporators.
Unhealthy for progress
Last October, President BBM led the lowering of the time capsule to signal the start of constructions for the bridge that will connect the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte to Davao City.
Once completed in 2027, the P19-billion bridge, which will be 3.98 kilometers long, is expected to boost tourism and the economy in Davao. It is a four-lane bridge that can accommodate up to 25,000 vehicles daily and reduce travel time between the island and Davao City from 30 minutes via ferry to just five minutes.
According to the President, the Samal Island-Davao City Connector bridge project is expected to boost the Davao region’s economic potential as well as improve the access of communities in the area to jobs, education and other services, not to mention improve the peace and order situation in the area and ensure faster and more efficient aid distribution during calamities.
Samal Island is considered as the country’s largest resort city and the Davao region’s top tourist crowd-drawer, with the Pearl Farm Beach and the IGaCoS Mangrovetum scientific laboratory for mangrove systems as some of its attractions. Samal City’s own website mentioned other leisure activities in the island such as climbing the highlands of Puting Bato, basking in its 118-km white sand beaches, the Hagimit Falls, and the 245-foot long Monfort Bat Cave Sanctuary which is the world’s largest colony of Rousette fruit bats.
Even real estate development and prices have picked up. Earlier, developer Damosa Land said it is undertaking a mixed-use development project in Samal Island on a 12-hectare property that will feature medium-rise condominiums, a marine, hotel, among others.
Samal Island indeed has grown by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, its growth potential is being hampered by the lack of adequate and reliable power supply.
For more than six years now, the people of Samal Island have been complaining about the services provided by debt-laden Northern Davao Electric Cooperative or Nordeco.
The people of Samal Island in Davao are desperately appealing to the administration of President Marcos to look into their welfare, especially in providing for their need for a stable supply of electricity from a reliable electric distribution company.
These people can no longer endure the incompetence they have suffered for more than six years from the disappointment they have from the services being provided by Nordeco, which we have learned is now deeply ditched in P4.8 billion debt.
Around 3,000 island dwellers, together with their elected officials, earlier staged a protest rally to demand for a reliable, dependable and cost-efficient electricity service and to call the President’s attention to their sad plight.
While other electric companies in the region have reached 99 percent of their rural electrification targets, Nordeco has underperformed, barely achieving 78 percent.
According to Nordeco customers, they can no longer wait for Nordeco’s franchise to end in 2033 while paying for inefficient and expensive service (around P9 more per kilowatt-hour compared to a nearby provider). They said that they need a cooperative that can provide 100 percent response time within an hour and capable of restoring power in 90 minutes’ time, instead of one that simply disregards complaints and ignores emergency calls.
For comments, e-mail at mareyes@philstarmedia.com