BALUNGAO—The Balungao Hilltop Adventure is the number one bread and butter of the local government unit (LGU), according to the mayor here.

Mayor Philipp Peralta told the KBP Special Forum held at the town hall that the Balungao Hilltop Adventure is its top income -generating project that sustains various programs of the town.

He said he takes pride in showing Balungao, a fourth class municipality, perform better than its status because of the town’s ability to earn revenues beyond its category.

Balungao Hilltop Adventure’s swimming pool

“If you combine the town’s Internal Revenue Allotment and the local income, we are not fourth class,” Peralta said.

With their improved revenues, Peralta said his administration is focused on introducing improvements in the LGU-owned resort, public market, and the cemetery which, unexpectedly, is also providing them income.

He said a total of P20-million every year is earned from these projects.

“Look at our mountains. It’s like it has a magnet factor. If you go there, you feel relieved from your problems, especially that there is no signal (for mobile phones) in those areas,” Peralta said.

He said the town has a lot of potentials on agro-eco tourism in the town.

He said maintaining a resort that is owned and maintained by the government is a tough job because it being a government operation, some think they can ask for free use of the resort’s facilities.

“But the truth is, there is nothing free there,” he said.

He added the town’s advocacy is to increase their revenues and further develop their tourism assets.

Cromwell Oliver Hernandez, the town tourism officer, said, there were more than 106,000 visitors at the Balungao Hilltop Adventure and enabled the town to earn more than P11-million from entrance fees and use of their facilities.

He expects to exceed last year’s performance this year with the new activities added in the Balungao Hilltop Adventure.

Added activities are aerial biking (otherwise known as sky biking), wall climbing and a week ago, the Balungao spa at the resort which has its hot and cold springs.

Hernandez said other water sports activities at the small water impounding project in Barangay Pugaro will be financed by the Department of Agriculture. (With PhilStar wire service report)

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