Post by EXO on Apr 23, 2018 8:28:34 GMT 8
QUO VADIS, CORREGIDOR - RURSUS!!
So now we have a new CFI, and the questions can't be helped but asked, "Where are you going, Corregidor?"
The new CFI people probably weren't around (or even involved) when we had the "Quo Vadis, Corregidor" discussions before. The topics were raised and discussed, almost ad nauseum, back in 2006-2007. So what happened then?
The short answer is "Nothing!" and the long answer is "Nothing, but here are the reasons." Either way, nothing comes from nothing.
In 2007, we made recommendations and were entirely ignored. Please have a thought as to how Corregidor would be today if these recommendations, made 2007, had been taken seriously. (Say, wasn't that recently said about Boracay, that had the recommendations made by certain persons several years ago been followed, the resort would have avoided its present public health disaster and the need for a close-down?) I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, 2007! Ah, where's my flux capacitor when I need it?
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As the tourist market of WWII Veterans has now ended, and there is a correspondingly smaller market of relatives and “buffs”, the “Heritage Memorial Island” market is failing to reach the raw customer numbers of even a few years ago. No longer can the custodians of its heroism install more statues, more plaques and more memorials, and expect wave after wave of awe struck tourists to come and pay respect to the remembrance of the heroes of yesteryear. Sure, there will always be a residual market, but the numbers have been heading toward uncommerciality.
Don't get me wrong - there will always be a number of tourists who will do just that, me amongst them, and the market will still need to be looked after - but the numbers just won't be there.
One option is to reinvent Corregidor as an Eco-Park. This has already been attempted – in name, in words, perhaps even by intent - but hardly not by action.
So why not do it, but for real, this time?
Getting an internationally recognised environmental audit would be the way to start on this. An audit would certify Corregidor’s eco-friendly credentials, and would furnish a roadmap on how to reinvent Corregidor to become one of Manila's closest showcase natural ecological reserves.
Why internationally recognised? Because if not, there will always be a suggestion that the Government had not retained a truly "independent" report.
For instance, and to get the discussion rolling, I suggest:
1: No cats, No dogs, no domestic pets; if there are rats, then use rat-terriers, not feral cats.
2: No traps, no trappers; have a university study done of the monkey population to assess its health etc., and allow numbers to be trapped to provide breeding colonies elsewhere. Monkeys should not be in cages at the Coast Guard to provide for eating.
3: No night resident squatters on the beaches;
4. All introduced garbage from the island be removed from the island, not dumped, buried or burned after dark;
5: All waste products must be environmentally disposed of; bring shame upon the Metro Manila authorities concerning the floating tide of garbage they send to Manila Bay each day;
6. Actual enforcement of a fishing ban – no dynamite, cyanide or other fishing whatsoever, within a declared environmental zone;
7: Develop artificial reefs as fish breeding grounds, and perhaps as skindiving attractions.
All of this should be done in a public manner, for two reasons:
1: The public and Corregidor's stakeholders do not trust that it be done behind closed doors; and
2: It is the beginning of a publicity campaign to establish Corregidor as an eco-destination, locally and internationally.
There's also another way to get up to speed on the "Where goes Corregidor" discussion. The direct link is HERE.