A lawmaker from Rizal province on Saturday urged the private sector to invest on sustainable tourism and conservation efforts.
Rep. Fidel Nograles of Rizal issued the call following international recognition of the Masungi Georeserve in his province as one of the most sustainable and innovative tourism projects in the world.
Nograles said tourism-oriented companies should “be like Masungi“ in exploring sustainable tourism and doing their share to help protect the environment.
Early this month, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, recognized Masungi as one of three leading private sector-led tourism projects in the world.
Nograles, in whose district Masungi is located, said that the project should serve as a template for other companies to follow.
Masungi Georeserve is at the boundary of Baras and Tanay towns.
“The declaration would help set up the proper infrastructure to support tourism in and around the area,” Nograles said as he filed House Bill 2639 declaring Masungi Georeserve as a tourist destination.
“The government should promote sustainable tourism and conservation in the same manner the private sector does. It is, after all, government’s duty to secure the interests and patrimony of the people,” Nograles, vice chairman of the House indigenous cultural communities committee, said.
He said the sustained success of Masungi and other sustainable tourism projects in the country is closely tied with how well the government responds to the issues that arise from developing such sites.
Nograles also encouraged public to visit not only Masungi, but the other sites that his district has to offer, such as Wawa Dam, Daranak Falls, and Mount Daraitan.
Nograles is also vice chairman of the House justice committee.