Rota backs destination enhancement initiative

An aerial view of Songsong Village on Rota. (Contributed photo)

Rota has answered the call for support for the CNMI’s destination enhancement campaign.

The Rota Mayor’s Office, Filipino Community of Rota, or FILCOR, and Hotel Valentino have signed up with the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers’ Public Private Partnership, an initiative that encourages both the private and public sectors to help maintain and develop parks, landmarks, and tourist sites on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian.

Under their five-year commitment to PPP, the Rota Mayor’s Office, FILCOR, and Hotel Valentino have adopted the Songsong Village and the Pinatang Park. The three groups have proposed to spruce up the old abandoned buildings at the main thoroughfare of Songsong and the concrete fence of the park.

Typhoons, businesses folding up, and residents moving out have left Rota with many abandoned buildings, while time and lack of funds for maintenance have caused the continued deterioration of the concrete fence of Pinatang Park—a seawater park with several channels out to the open sea.

To start with their improvement project, the Rota Mayor’s Office, FilCOR, and Hotel Valentino will be doing paint jobs in some parts of the abandoned buildings and trimming overgrown shrubs. They will also plant flowers and grow foliage in the target areas. The Pinatang Park fence will be assessed first so they could come up with a repair plan.

The before and after photos of the fence at the Pinatang Park. The Rota Mayor’s Office, Filipino Community of Rota, and Hotel Valentino trimmed the overgrown shrubs outside the fence early this month. (Contributed photo)

“We are excited to collaborate with Hotel Valentino and FILCOR and support the Public Private Partnership initiative. This program will allow members of our community to assist in helping beautify our island. My staff are ready to assist and intend to use this time we have now to help address the eyesore issue (abandoned buildings) that many members of our community have expressed concern with,” said Rota Mayor Efraim Atalig.

FILCOR president Jesusa Calvo said their group believes that the beautification project isn’t just about impressing neighboring islands and visitors, but also about how residents work together to make a difference in the community they live in.

“The island is home to us and it’s our responsibility to take care of the place that welcomed us with open arms. Since I came here in 1992, I always hear people saying ‘Na’gatbo Luta,” which means ‘Beautify Rota.’ We want help do that. Together we can,” Calvo said. (PR)