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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Para sa Elyu': Ortega hopes Marcos SONA will include programs beneficial to La Union

'Para sa Elyu': Ortega hopes Marcos SONA will include programs beneficial to La Union

Published Jul 18, 2025 01:00 pm

At A Glance

  • La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega is crossing his fingers that President Marcos, in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), will mention programs that matter to the communities in his home province—a major tourism hub in the North.
La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
​La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega is crossing his fingers that President Marcos, in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), will mention programs that matter to the communities in his home province—a major tourism hub in the North.
He hopes such program would cover tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, education and health.
La Union, often referred to as ​"Elyu,​" ​is a top beach and surf destinations in the​ Philippines, especially ​during weekends.
Ortega said the tourism boom in ​the province has helped drive provincial growth. In this regard, he hope​d the administration would outline new strategies to sustain that momentum.
“Hindi lang naman turismo ‘yan, syempre iba’t-ibang factors rin ‘yan kasama. Pero majority noon nanggagaling sa mga influx ng mga visitors namin sa province​ (It's not only about tourism. It has lots of factors. But the majority of it came from the influx of visitors),” he added.
Beyond infrastructure, Ortega stressed the need to hear about long-term planning for sustainability and ecotourism.
“So parang gusto kong makita kung ano ‘yun what’s next for tourism as well kasi nakita naman natin nandyan ‘yung mga access roads. So madaling pumunta sa aming probinsya​ (So what I want to see is what's next for tourism as well because there is an access road leading to our province. So it's already easy to go there),” he said.
He says the challenge now is how to protect La Union’s natural attractions and community life even as more people visit every year.
“Pero parang gusto ko makita kung ano pa ‘yung bagong programa nila for that, ‘yung sustainability, ecotourism, yung tourism as a whole​ (What I want to see is the new program for that—sustainability, ecotourism and tourism as a whole),” Ortega added.
Aside from tourism, Ortega says that support for agriculture is just as crucial, especially in provinces where farmers still struggle with rising costs of inputs and weak farm-to-market logistics.
He said it would be helpful to see how the government plans to balance both development tracks.
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