by Vic Larato
ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 10, (PIA) - - “On our way to Zamboanga City, we had mixed feelings; some were excited
to come for the first time, but most of us were anxious and a bit afraid
because of some negative reports we heard about the city. But when we arrived,
to our surprise, we found Zamboanga a very peaceful and progressive city.”
Thus, Lucita Aviles, district supervisor of Lopez
Jaena District of Misamis Occidental, exclaimed when interviewed yesterday in
City Hall after her group of 20 school principals paid a courtesy call on Mayor
Celso Lobregat.
“Zamboanga City has improved a lot since my first
visit here. Adunay daku’g kausaban (There is a big improvement,” Aviles said,
adding that Zamboanga now has many beautiful places to go to and enjoy. “You
now have Paseo del Mar with a dancing fountain, Plaza Pershing with multi-patterned
fountain and many other attractions, which were not found many years ago,” she
said.
One school
principal said this was her first time to be in Zamboanga, which she only saw
in the postcard. “Dugay na nakong
panganduy nga maka anhi diri, nia na jud ko ug akong nakita nga nindot ang
Zamboanga (It has long been my desire to come here, and finally I am here
and I found Zamboanga a very beautiful city), she said.
Another school head said her first time in Zamboanga
City was in 1986. “Back then, there were few people downtown and there was not
vehicular traffic. Now, everything has changed. This is a sign that Zamboanga
is very progressive,” she said.
“I can see and feel the beauty of Zamboanga,” the
president of MisOcc Association of School Principals said. “Unsay among na kita
ug gibati karun nga nia mi diri baliktad sa among na dungug (What we see and
what we feel now that we are contrary to what he heard before coming over), he
added.
During a briefing with Mayor Lobregat, the visiting
school principals from Lopez Jaena District of Misamis Occidental were
surprised to know that Zamboanga is the 6th largest city in the
country in terms of population, the third biggest city in terms of land area,
the Sardines Capital of the Philippines, and now Asia’s Latin City on account
of its Spanish-derivative language called Chabacano.
The group arrived in the city Monday afternoon as
part of their Lakbay Aral trip. They toured the city’s tourist attractions.
They are scheduled to go back to Misamis Occidental today, and they promised to
tell their teachers, students and people back home about Zamboanga being very
peaceful and progressive.
At the end of his powerpoint presentation on the
city development strategies, Lobregat requested the visiting educators to be Zamboanga’s
ambassador of goodwill and tourism when they return to their respective places (JPA/VL/CIO/PIA9-ZBST)
