Connecting tourists and tourist spots

Rico Laxa has a vision. It is to someday see millions of local and foreign tourists exploring nooks and corners of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. He sees them bringing in associates, friends and kin to enjoy local hospitality at its best. He views them likewise as purveyors of much-needed Euro dollars, US greenbucks, Japanese yens, and even Chinese rinminbis. They for sure would accelerate the tempo of an ailing Third World economy.

Laxa who is the general manager of National Housing Authority today foresees a Luzon-wide railroad system with A-1 tourist facilities in every stop such as those found in Japan Railways’ (JR) many ekis, along Eurorail’s connecting stations or in American Rail’s whistle stops.

In line manner, Laxa conjures images of tourist information booths in the exit passages of major train stations such as in Caloocan, Guiguinto, Calumpit, San Fernando and Angeles City. It would be something like "Welcome to the City of San Fernando!" when exiting before the Clark train terminal where the journey on tracks end.

From those booths, backpackers and first-class travelers, the latter perhaps of the business type, could proceed to local historical shrines. We refer of course to the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Valenzuela’s industrial block and its nationally known putong puto or San Fernando’s period residences that are better appreciated while on board a horse-drawn calesa.

Interestingly, the train ride itself ought to be visually challenging as well. Flashed in our imaginations are track side views of the Japanese and European countryside in springtime, where flowers are in full bloom and the sun is neither mercilessly hot nor frigidly impotent. We see train station kiosks where magazines and newspapers, tobacco products, candies and other sweets including cold and hot drinks are sold. Those who make good money along this line are the enterprising gazebo concessionaires.

In the days of old, when tribes and even princely states battled each other as often as cats and dogs do, the chief means of travel, especially during the rainy season, was the bullock cart. By boat along the numerous canals and rivers, that’s how people and goods moved too. There was aso the ekka. The what? Of interest to Filipinos, a cart with two wheels and pulled by a pony likewise complemented streetcars, automobiles and buses in urban centers. Yes, the ekka. Yet what united the vast sub-continent of diverse climatic zones was the Indian railway system which comprises about 36,000 route miles and is the fourth largest in the world.

Compared to the world’s great railway systems, our attempt at confederating at least the peoples of Central Luzon and the metropolis is only at its embryonic stage. However, after three and a half decades of neglect, the country’s railway system will be brought back to life with the construction of the Northrail that promptly started last November 8. Before martial law was imposed by Dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1972, rails connected Metro Manila with the rest of Luzon. But the railway system has since then deteriorated beyond repair.

It is a well-known fact that before the Northrail construction could commence, the national government, through the Housing and the Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) has put in place a resettlement plan to clear PNR ROW of informal dwellers and pave the way for a speedier decongestion of Metro Manila.

Laxa is the lead implementor of the resettlement plan that calls for a menu of options that includes selection of preferred relocation cities and serviced lots of NHA resettlement sites, specifically Toweville, San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province. In fact, the options were expanded to include a R50,000 financial housing assistance grant which will be utilized for "Balik Probinsya," a transfer to other areas and equity for land purchase elsewhere or livelihood assistance.

The priority area for clearing not later than the end of the year is the Caloocan-Malabon-Valenzuela segment of the project. Over 600 families from Caloocan have already been moved to the NHA Resettlement Project in Towerville while about 300 families from Valenzuela have volunteered to move to Barangay Bignay, Valenzuela.

The spadework has begun. Wearing hard hat and with a spade on hand, Laxa puts into action the incipient portion of his realizable dream. At 50, he fully believes that he will still be around when the Northrail would have become a tourist attraction for both local and foreign travelers, himself included.