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Camp North winds up caravan tour
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: -
Date: 2004-05-28
 
About two hundred caravan participants, traveling in a convoy of some 70 cars, vans, 4x4 and ultra motorbikes, successfully completed the first and second legs of the recently concluded seven-day Camp North 2004.





The caravan ran almost 2,000 kilometers from Clarkfield in Pampanga up to Subic Freeport in Zambales via the northern part of the Pan-Philippine Highway with Claveria, Cagayan as the furthest point. This was significant for Benjamin Santos, founder of Systems Technology Institute (STI), who completed with his daughter, niece and grandson both legs for all eight runs since the North Philippines caravan started in 2000.



Fifty-three participants – the youngest of which was seven-month old Radharani with her Finnish-Filipino parents, Peterri and Joy Makitalo – completed the first leg of the caravan, which ran from Clarkfield up to Laoag City.



Tourism Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan, who sent off the participants at the start of the caravan in Clarkfield said that Camp North is one of the Department of Tourism’s (DoT) travel advocacy programs under its “WOW Philippines! Ganda ng Pilipinas, Galing ng Pilipino” (GP2) campaign. It aims to make travel to the countryside affordable, more convenient and more enjoyable. Now on its eight run and through the efficient road system completed by the Arroyo administration along Regions 1, 2, 3 and the Cordillera Administrative Region, Camp North continues to bring participants to the country’s delightful travel destinations without the expensive airfares.



From Pampanga, the caravan proceeded through the excellent highways of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Isabela, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan and Zambales, where it culminated in the graduation rites for more than a hundred participants at Subic.



Undersecretary Rene Diaz of the Office of the President for North Luzon, who led the caravan from start to finish, announced that Go North Philippines, the precursor of Camp North and dubbed as a regional roadshow caravan on trade, investment, tourism and social involvement, won the Anvil Award of Merit during the recent 39th awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.



Diaz added, “Camp North is just a glimpse of the tremendous tourism potentials that await any traveler to North Philippines. The caravan participants were provided with first-hand experience of the natural and man-made tourist attractions of the towns and cities visited. With their exposure to the wonders of North Philippines, the caravan participants can easily be opinion leaders in inviting their relatives and peers, or even in organizing caravans themselves, for another wonderful visit to the North.”



There were many caravan participants, who went backpacking and camping instead of the usual hotel accommodations. These campers pitched their tents in Ifugao right beside the eight wonder of the world – the breathtaking Banawe Rice Terraces – as well as along the banks of the mighty Cagayan River in Peñablanca and at Camp John Hay in Baguio.



With other caravan participants, these backpackers and campers engaged in outdoor activities like spelunking at the Sta. Victoria Caves in Ilagan, Isabela; Callao and Sierra Caves in Cagayan where they also witnessed the awesome circadian flight of bats at twilight. There was beach swimming in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte and Fort Ilocandia, Laoag City; boating and kayaking in Cagayan and Hundred Islands in Pangasinan.



Cultural activities included church and museum tours in Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Benguet and the antique houses in Vigan, Ilocos Sur among others.



Camp North was organized by the DoT under its “GP2” campaign and the Office of the Presidential Assistant for North Luzon with the cooperation of the Island Caravan Consortium. It is part of the DoT’s Biyaheng Caravan Series, which include Biyaheng Singko-Singko, Western Seaboard Caravan, Eastern Seaboard Caravan, Zamboanga Peninsula Caravan and the WOW Pinoy! Island Caravan Nautical Highway Adventure.
 

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