Cebu 5th District Rep. Vincent “Duke” Frasco has filed a bill declaring the Cebu Safari Adventure Park in Carmen, northern Cebu as a tourist destination.
He said declaring the 170-hectare adventure park as a tourist destination as provided under House Bill No. 7848 would boost economic activities, and secure investments in the municipality of Carmen, a third income class municipality in the fifth district of Cebu.
“Developing the Safari will generate investment and foreign exchange in the area and will also provide employment opportunities for local residents,” he said in his bill’s explanatory note.
Considered as the largest safari in the Philippines, the Cebu Safari Adventure Park houses some 1,200 animals imported from Spain, Australia, United States, Africa and other countries.
Founded in 2018, the Park has one of the longest and highest ziplines in the country, at 1.3 kilometers long and 671 meters high. It also houses a zoological and botanical complex that is the only of its kind in the Philippines, Frasco noted.
He said he filed the bill to recognize the Park’s “enormous potential to contribute to the country’s roster of tourism destinations as a phenomenally well-developed attraction in Southeast Asia.”
“With the influx of tourists, these tourist spots will also be a significant source of business opportunities that can support local entrepreneurship and livelihood in Cebu,” the lawmaker said.
HB 7848 provides that the development of the tourist spot and the access roads leading to the park will be prioritized by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The bill tasks the DOT to prepare a Tourism Development Plan for the construction of other facilities or infrastructure projects that will strengthen the tourism activities in the area.
“Our vision to uplift the lives of the people of the entire Fifth District of Cebu will come into fruition by strengthening the economic status of its towns and city. Official government recognition of tourism spots such as this spells increased government spending to provide access and infrastructure, opening up massive opportunities for the people of the District,” Frasco said.
Charissa Luci-Atienza. (2020, October 14). Bill declaring Cebu Safari Adventure Park as a tourist destination filed. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/14/bill-declaring-cebu-safari-adventure-park-as-a-tourist-destination-field/
