Zambo Takes Over Pink Shores
ZAMBOANGA CITY (PNA) –- The city government is putting up millions of pesos worth of tourism oriented projects, including a P27-million dancing fountain at Paseo del Mar, a kilometer east from city hall, and will soon start the development of the big Sta. Cruz Island fronting the port of Zamboanga.
The Great Sta Cruz Island is famous worldwide for its pink sands and is being used as a picnic spot for mainlanders since it is just about 30 minutes away from the local port on board a motorized banca.
While other beaches boast of white sands, the islands pink sands are so colored by bits and pieces of red corrals eroded or pulverized by waves on the shorelines of the island.
On the other hand, nearby Small Sta. Cruz Island, with its white sands, is occupied by elements of the Philippine Navy and is off limits to uninvited guests.
The city has been hankering to develop the island for its tourism potential but the island is managed by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) and the city government is stymied from developing its own islands for tourism purposes.
But not anymore, said City Mayor Celso Lobregat in a press conference at City Hall.
The mayor announced that Mark Lapid, chief operation officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority has confirmed to him the turnover of the island to the local government of Zamboanga.
Top Tourism officials have promised to turn over the big Great Sta. Cruz island to the city government for the past several years but the mayor said that it is only now that the city government got the official word for its possession of this atoll along the Straits of Basilan.
With this development, the mayor has organized Task Force Adelante Sta. Cruz to help plan the development of the island. (Adelante is Spanish-Chavacano word for forward.)
Anticipating the PTA turnover of the islands to the city government since years ago, Lobregat said the city has an initial amount of P20 million to update Sta. Cruz for international and local tourism purposes.
As a start, the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) – Zamboanga Chapter will be tasked to conduct a competition among architects to design infrastructures for Sta. Cruz island.
Chapter President Shiralee Pajarito said the competition will be opened to all certified architects and students or graduates of architecture courses will be eligible to compete in the design.
The deadline for the submission of entries , on two categories, should be before June 18 where the Task Force Adelante Sta. Cruz will decide on the winners.
Pajarito said the best design submitted by a certified architect will receive P100,000 prize while a P50,000 prize awaits the designer from the student or graduate category.
She said the design for the development of Sta. Cruz Islands should include structures suitable and adaptable to the conditions in the island, environment friendly and of world class standing.
On the matter of security, Lobregat said the local police force, the maritime police, barangay and others law enforcement agencies will take care of the matter.
The two Sta. Cruz islands are under the jurisdiction of Mariki Barangay, a coastal barangay about two kilometers east of City hall.
The mayor is concerned about security in the islands because it is located along the Basilan Straits, and just about 10 nautical miles away from Basilan — notorious for its pirates , terrorists, kidnappers and the extremist Abu Sayyaf.
In fact, sometime in the 1977, the island became known to the world when a Japanese tourists, Yoko Seki, on a honeymoon in the city was kidnapped in the island by armed men and brought to Basilan. She was later released by her kidnappers.
Not withstanding the danger, local folks regularly visit the island for swimming and relaxation. Snorkeling and scuba diving are excellent diversions for the sun worshipers with lots of colorful marine life to experience since the water is clear.
There are regular banca trips from Lantaka Hotel by the Sea, the city’s oldest hotel (formerly Bayot Hotel) and a mini wharf at nearby Paseo del Mar.
Little motorized bancas also wait for picnickers at the R.T. Lim Boulevard that is also facing the two islands. The boulevard with its white sands is off limits to picnickers because the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has declared the area polluted and unsafe for swimming and frolicking in the sand.
There is no freshwater source in the island and all water to be consumed must be brought there by picnickers or tourists. Of course, small stores there sell the precious fluid at double the price compared to mainland rates.
Aside from water, there is no electricity in the island although entrepreneurs there have provided their own portable generators to run refrigerators and freezers in the island for storage of good and food items for visitors to Sta Cruz.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/357099/zambo-takes-over-pink-shores
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