Palawan Representative Abraham Mitra is calling on Cebu businessmen to consider Palawan as an alternative investment site especially for mango processing.
He lamented that due to the infestation of pulp weevil, mangoes from the province can’t be shipped out. However, he said that investors could still take advantage of its harvest of mangoes by processing it into products like dried mangoes and mango purees.
Rep. Mitra is optimistic that the entry of more flights for the Cebu-Palawan route would make it easier for investors to consider putting up processing plants in the island province. Just recently PAL Express has opened daily flights to Palawan from Cebu.
More airports will soon be opened in the island province and renovations in the airports of Puerto Princesa and San Vicente is underway to give investors and tourists shorter and more convenient travel time. By October the construction of the airport in the southern town of Balabac will begin while work on the new airport in the northern town of Coron is on track.
Rep. Mitra also said that Palawan is looking at the possibility of forging a partnership with the province of Cebu in terms of tourism. “Cebu has more tourists than Palawan because they are more ahead in terms of infrastructure and are more known abroad,” he said.
“I propose that tourists would visit these two beautiful islands at the same time. From Cebu the tourists can drop by Palawan” Mitra said. – Ritche T. Salgado