Mr Ish Fabicon-
founder of RDL-Clear
Mr Rene Faigao President
Officers and members of the Board; friends of Romblon
Good evening.
It is wonderful to be celebrating with you tonight.
My sister and I just flew in yesterday from California and one thing
nice with partying on this part of the country coming from LA is that
you start your parties at a time when we are just having our afternoon
coffee break in LA. We are hoping we can outlast the stamina of even
the youngest attendee tonight. It is the girl's weekend in our families
this week. We told our husbands we are going to Illinois this weekend
for a Romblon party and that is final. There was no dissent whatsoever.
You know the Bantoanons rule in our households.
When Ish asked
me to be tonight's speaker, my first reaction was to say NO. I felt
what can a Roblomanon, who left Banton at the age of 6 say to an elite
group of Romblomanons. I feel quite inferior to the talents surrounding
me tonight. But I cannot say no to Ish.
Then I asked Ish
what I should talk about and he said just think of the word "imagine".
So I took out my old Beatles tape and listen to their song "Imagine".
To those who do not know the song, it is a very powerful one and a
hit when I was a ...( I do not need to tell you that).
In a way it helped
me focus and gave me ideas on how I can inspire the group given the
limitations I have of being a transplanted Romblomanon.
I do not have
to strain your brain by rattling statistical data such as per capita
income of average Romblomanon or the province's ranking among the
other provinces of the Philippines. Suffice it to say our Romblon
province is one of the poorest.
So how as expatriates
can you and I help Romblon. Romblon has some industries that can be
fostered like the coconut and copra industry, marble and fishing industries.
Let us look at
the coconut industry. Hawaii gave up on this already. There is not
much money in it. I think our group the RDL-CLEAR also decided this
is a dead industry.
Then you have
the marble industry. There is no question Romblon is the marble capital
of the Philippines. My husband tried bringing the marble from the
Philippines here in the US more than a decade ago to compete with
the only supplier of the country at that time, Italy. We lost our
retirement nest egg from this endeavour. There are a lot of problems
in bringing marble from the Philippines to US, foremost of which is
the never favorable to business political climate. Personally therefore
I will not touch it with a ten foot pole.
Then there is
the fishing industry. I do not know anything about this. I am an avid
consumer of fish and fish products however.
So what is the
biggest industry that we expatriates can help Romblon with? TOURISM.
Americans like
to travel and explore the earth. But what can lure us and our friends
to Romblon? Aha! That is another story.
Romblon is a province
composed of little islands much like the state of Hawaii with bluer
clearer water, warmer at 150 feet deep, pristine beaches, and unbelievable
natural coral reefs. It is a paradise indeed.
But ask ourselves
the question: Am I going to Romblon if I do not have relatives or
emotional attachments there? Am I going there for pleasure? There
has to be a compelling reason to go to Romblon aside from sentimentality.
My husband, our children and friends do not have emotional attachment
there. With threat and bribe they will probably go. But will they
stay? Will they enjoy it enough to come back? Repeat consumers are
the backbone of tourism.
I really believe they will come back and stay longer however for unparalleled
snorkeling and scuba diving, rock climbing and rapelling, camping
and hiking. We do not have to imagine this. Varied rock formations,
beautiful coral reefs are indigenous to Romblon. We definitely can
harness this.
Tourists mean
business with enormous positive ripple effect to the local economy.
So imagine again
as tourists what will make you forego Hawaii, Manila or other Philippine
attractions in favor of Romblon?
I will talk from
my family's expectations which I am sure are not very far from a lot
of us here tonight.
First and foremost
consideration is the safety and comfort of going there.
1) Transportation:
Romblon has to develop reliable, safe and comfortable means of transportation.
As Romblomanons we are used to delays and discomfort in the boat.
But will regular tourists put up with it? Will they put up with the
SRO accommodation for over 8 hours? Will they share a restroom with
200 other people? Will they tolerate lack of air conditioning in the
atmosphere with 90% humidity? I do not think so.
But imagine if
Romblon has luxurious travel accommodation from Manila or Batangas;
a mini cruise line which in itself is already a vacation. Imagine
a boat trip with massage parlor, beauty shop and other relaxation
amenities to ease the tedious ride. Personally I will be happy to
pay extra for this. And since Romblon is made up of cluster of islands,
imagine speedboats cruising inter islands at least twice a day, so
tourists can island hop. Imagine different mode of transportations
in the islands to tickle tourist's fancy from medieval horses to futuristic
cars. Tempting isn't it?
Imagine how much
economic posterity this will bring to the islands.
2) Then there
is the problem of lodging. Honestly, if I have to visit Banton, I
have to make major adjustments. Although I still have close relatives
there I have embraced the American value of not imposing on anybody.
I want to visit and explore places at my own pace. I do not want relatives
making my itinerary. I also have to take my husband with me, which
will pose other logistical problems. This dilemma therefore brings
me to my next imagination. I imagine Romblon with hotels and bed and
breakfast homes in every town. It does not have to be star rated but
at least with reliable water source and hygienic bathrooms.
3) This brings
us to the most important area for development; a need to develop unique
attractions in the islands. Forget about turning it into a shopping
Mecca. Romblon cannot compete with Manila, Makati or Hongkong. Tourists
will go to Romblon for what it has to offer uniquely, and those are
physical pursuits and mental relaxation some of which I mentioned
earlier. We do not have to dream about this. It is already there.
There is an urgent need however to preserve Romblon's natural resources.
With viable year
round tourists to cater to, other industries will flourish as well
biggest of which will be the service industry, from tourist guides
to entertainers (educational, fun and legit I hope). Souvenir shops
will sprout and cottage industries will be busy churning souvenir
items. Close your eyes and imagine: Romblon, the number one tourists
destination in the Philippines and maybe the world.
Let us dare to
dream, let us dare to imagine a bright and prosperous future for Romblon.
Let us stop solidifying
the block wall between our imagination, dreams and reality.
This is the reason why I admire and support RDL-CLEAR. It shares my
imagination and dreams for Romblon.
Let us work hand
in hand. Let us make tonight ground zero. Let us make RDL-CLEAR the
nerve center for the fulfillment of this dream.
Thank you very much.
