DavNor exec sees Dujali town's boom

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, July 3 (PIA) -- The province's governor envisions the inland town of Braulio E. Dujali to teem with business and tourism activities as a major stopover site of travelers, traders and tourists traversing the Davao del Norte-Bukidnon road.

In a talk with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Merly Cruz during the recently held Kadagayaan Festival, Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario proposed the idea of the pooling resources of agencies of the government in a convergence strategy to bring about development in BE Dujali.

Asked how he would describe BE Dujali in five to 10 years time, he projected it to host inland resorts where visitors could go fishing, and that he envisioned it to accommodate about 100 trailer trucks a day in a wide terminal.

He pictured amenities for travelers such as cottages and entertainment establishment to rise in BE Dujali where he expected travelers and traders to spend their day after crossing the Davao del Norte-Bukidnon Road, which will soon become fully operational.

Del Rosario said entering the inland town has already been made easy through access points in adjacent towns of Sto. Tomas, Kapalong and Carmen and in the cities of Tagum and Panabo.

Located in the 2nd Congressional District of Davao del Norte, BE Dujali lies 52 km away from Davao City and 27 km from Tagum City.

A low-lying, flood-prone area, BE Dujali was carved out from Panabo City and the municipality of Carmen. It was created into a separate town by virtue of Republic Act 8473 approved on January 30, 1998.

To fund the envisioned development for BE Dujali, Del Rosario thought of applying the Convergence for Peace and Development strategy that his administration is using to bring in the needed government services to target far-flung barangays.

He also thought of having Dujali placed under the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) focused area where agencies such as departments of agriculture, science and technology and trade and industry including the Technical Education for Skills Development Authority (TESDA) can pour their resource to realize the planned development for Dujali.

Cruz said BE Dujali along with the municipalities of Kapalong, New Corella and Talaingod were among the 609 towns that DTI had placed under NAPC as focused areas for food production.

Cruz looked forward for BE Dujali to become a “convergence showcase” where various government agencies put together their resources to build and develop a town.

She introduced Governor del Rosario to DTI development planner Romy Castanaga whom she expected to draw up a development plan for BE Dujali, together with a technical working group.

In line with del Rosario’s vision for BE Dujali, Cruz projected the town to rise as a fishing village which would not only be good for raising Pangasius for export but also for fishing leisure.

She envisioned it to become a “halfway home” for travelers ,and a place that would be transformed into an environment-friendly community integrated with commercial and large-scale business developments just like the Nuvali of Ayala Land and the Yulo family.

“There’s going to be a Nuvali in Dujali,” she said. (PIA-11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)