Cagayan’s Palaui Island eyed for int’l film shoots

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines   â€“ Three of the world’s leading film producers are eyeing Palaui Island in Cagayan as possible location for movie production.

Benjie de Yro, information officer of the regional office of the Philippine Information Agency in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, identified the movie production outfits as Columbia Pictures, 21st Century Fox, and Golan Films.

De Yro said apart from Palaui Island, the film outfits are also considering the Callao caves in Cagayan as another site.

Lying along the West Philippine Sea-Pacific Ocean coast, Palaui Island was recently adjudged by CNN as among the world’s 100 most beautiful islands and beaches.

Ranked 10th on the CNN list, the island, which is part of Santa Ana town, is a 7,415-hectare national government-protected marine area.

Palaui Island, where the 27th season of the reality show “Survivor” is also currently being filmed, was cited for its glorious white sand, volcanic rocks and blue green water.

“We still have very limited information about it, except for Golan Films, which is reportedly doing a World War II movie here. So far, we don’t have any idea what the two other production firms would be doing,” De Yro said.

But the Santa Ana-based Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) said it is not aware of the reported plans of the three international movie outfits to shoot their films in the area.

“So far, nobody has come to us proposing to shoot movie projects in Palaui,” said CEZA deputy administrator Nilo Aldeguer.

Golan-Globus, part of the Cannon Group of America companies, has produced movies for popular stars Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, and Chuck Norris.

Columbia Pictures, an American film production and distribution studio, is one of the world’s leading film studios. It now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment.