San Vicente beaches hidden but not for long

LONG BEACH This 14-kilometer stretch of shore covered with powdery white sand in San Vicente town, in the island province of Palawan, promises to become one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations, as development continues involving the tourism industry’s big investors. PALAFOX ASSOCIATES/CONTRIBUTOR

SAN VICENTE, Palawan—Imagine trekking along 14 kilometers of unspoiled powdery white sand with nothing but the vast expanse of the West Philippine Sea and endless rows of lush forests and old coconut trees on both sides.

If you insist on been-there-done-that bragging rights, Palawan province’s Long Beach should top your list even before the first hotel hove into view and upbeat party music supplanted poignant evenings.

It’s easy to tell this place is going to transform in a big way. A

2-km-runway airport nearby is due for completion this year and promises to dramatically boost tourist traffic. The cementing of the access road from the capital of Puerto Princesa City, or what used to be a decrepit logging road through old growth forest, is just about finished and will effortlessly link the place to the urban hub.

Most notably, the tourism industry’s big guys are already on board. They have figured this place out long before the first backpackers wandered into it. Among them was Anscor, which is into high-end island-resort development. They have locked in the prime locations along Long Beach, pouring in an estimated P1 billion in acquisitions in the last five years, according to local officials.

“There is no doubt that Long Beach is destined to become a world-class tourist destination. With its 14.7-km-long pristine stretch of beach, it is one of the longest, if not the longest, white-sand beach in the Philippines,” San Vicente Mayor Pie Alvarez told the Inquirer.

Alvarez is presiding over a meticulous planning process, which she hopes will ensure that tourism development can take place in Long Beach with optimum benefits to the local economy, “without sacrificing the environment.”

“We wish to learn from the best practices of tourism destinations around the world and create our own unique destination,” Alvarez said.

Natural beauty

Long Beach is a seemingly endless stretch of sand that arches along the western coastline of Palawan. From one’s seat as the plane descends, one can’t miss the glistening strip of sand at the edge of the lush forests of central Palawan. As one stands from one end of the beach, it is hard to see where it ends even on a clear day.

San Vicente’s planners can’t resist the comparison to Boracay Island in Panay that currently draws the bulk of beach hounds in the country. By its sheer size, Long Beach is Boracay magnified four times.

“One of our advantages is we have the opportunity to plan first before we build,” said municipal tourism officer Lucy Panagsagan.

The local government has a good reason to be cautious on how they should go about exploiting the area. Despite being the main hub of a logging operation in the late ’70s, San Vicente remains the most densely forested area of Palawan, with 86 percent of its total land area still covered by trees.

Its marine environment is host to an abundant fisheries resource. The town wants to make sure the fish remain, so they have designated at least six sites as fish sanctuaries or no-take zones.

A large chunk of the forest has been classified as a protected area under the National Integrated Area Protected Program. Nearly all wildlife species in the province can be found in San Vicente, including those considered to be at the brink of extinction such as the Philippine forest turtle (Heosemis leytensis), which can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

Land prices

Long-term investors from Manila and Cebu started the ball rolling for choice slices of real estate along Long Beach just over five years ago. Locals sold their land for as low as P70 per square meter, recalled Francis Picardal, a local entrepreneur.

Vice Mayor Antonio V. Gonzales recalled that at one time in 2007, he facilitated the acquisition of prime Long Beach properties for five prominent businessmen from Cebu province who shelled out P5 million each.

“In 2007, the landowners were happy to sell at P100 per square meter. These days, the price is between P4,000 to P5,000 per square meter,” Gonzales said.

Except for a handful of families, most of the original owners of the land, including the Agutaynen natives of San Vicente, have sold out to developers from out of town.

“It’s a sad reality that the original landowners were not able to hold on a bit longer to their properties,” Picardal said.

Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/155872/san-vicente-beaches-hidden-but-not-for-long

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