Pawad’s park tickles into a tourism destination

PJTremedal

Manga, Pagadian City – Pagadian City Water District (PCWD) or locally named as “Pawad” has opened the eyes of the Pagadian City Tourism Council as it introduces its Manga Serenity Park, an eco-tourism potential and destination not only for local tourists but foreign as well.

“We are closely working with the city government thru the tourism council and the local tourism office to have our park known to the public and made it a known eco-tourism destination.” General Manager Ed Yorong said.

Pawad’s Manga Serenity Park is located in Barangay Manga, more or less 10 kilometers away from the city proper and found in the middle of a forest, which was once inhabited and acquired by the city water district to become its watershed project for potable water and a resource for more than 2,000 families in the year 2000.

“It is an 11.6 hectares forestland with 20 feet cascading waterfall down to a lagoon, beautiful and serene as it is, the management of PCWD decided to maintain it, reforest it with responsibility to become one of our water source, and it came to our mind that, why not made it into a park and let it be a destination for our students to see a real forest as an educational tool. So the management started to rehabilitate it, establish some trails and trekking steps and made the lagoon into small swimming pool. And even marked the trees and name it what kind of specie they are.” Engr.Yorong added.

During the Zamboanga Peninsula regional tourism stakeholders meeting this week hosted by the Pagadian City Tourism Council led by Dr. Priscilla Fernadez, she herself a former board of director of the PCWD and chairman introduces the said Manga Serenity Park to the regional tourism council members from Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga Sur, Zamboanga Norte, and the cities of Zamboanga, Dipolog, Isabela, Dapitan and Pagadian.

With a plan to have a joint venture with the city government and make it as one of the city’s tourism destination, Manga Serenity Park will be open soon to local and foreign tourists.

“With the enthusiasm of the management of the water district and full support from the Co’s administration to make it as a tourism potential and destination, Manga Serenity Park of Pagadian” Dr. Fernandez said.

Meanwhile, Atty. Allan Ranillo of Dipolog City who heads the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Tourism Council was also happy to see the park and experience himself with the hope that the city government together with the Pawad management will make it a dream come true.

“This experience seeing a real forest with a beautiful waterfall and a serene environment, this area made into a park by a private company will surely be a tourism destination. And with its plan to make it into an eco-tourism potential it will educate our future generation and see for themselves a real thing, not with their books and magazines but as I said the real thing and this will be the jewel of Pagadian.” He said.

With the Mayor who follows the members of the regional tourism council inside the Manga Serenity Park was quoted saying,

” My administration will surely support this tourism project, as you have toured our city, we Pagadianons are fast moving our resources to become the next tourism destination of Western Mindanao or the Zamboanga Peninsula Region.” Mayor Samuel Co stressed.

As the new regional center of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region it has move heaven and earth to facelift the city and its barangays into a haven of peaceful fully develop center of progressive civilization with a distinct cultural heritage of the Moro People, the Local Settlers (Christians) and the Subanens. The tri-people of Pagadian City