BAGUIO CITY – Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, as Chairman of the Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay (BLISTT) Council, recognized the importance of extending investments outside of his city and committed to champion the BLISTT economic growth node as the focus of his many negotiations with potential investors. This was discussed during the BLISTT Development Council meeting on December 4, 2019 at the RDC-CAR Conference Hall.
Magalong added that he missed some opportunities for possible BLISTT investment due to the lack of information on land development availability in the area. BLISTT Secretary and Tublay Mayor Armando Lauro pledged his support for BLISTT development. He shared that a private lot in his municipality is planned for conversion into an economic zone where investments can be channeled. The BLISTT Council agreed to pass a resolution for Mayor Magalong to deal with investment ventures for the BLISTT.
The BLISTT is one of the major economic growth nodes in the Cordillera region. The BLISTT growth node aims to decongest Baguio City while spreading economic opportunities to the LISTT municipalities. The Regional Development Plan 2017-2022, whose preparation was coordinated by NEDA-CAR, aims to develop the area as a regional commercial and service center. La Trinidad and Baguio City are currently home to many regional government agencies and offices as well as several major universities, not only of CAR but also, of Northern Luzon. BLISTT is likewise the main gateway to the rest of the Cordillera region.
All these characteristics make the BLISTT a prime location for investment. Mayor Magalong urged the other mayors to update their respective development masterplans to serve as a blueprint for developing the area. “We have all these investments coming to Baguio because we developed our masterplans”, he said.
NEDA has commissioned a study for the BLISTT’s infrastructure development. The BLISTT Sustainable Infrastructure Development Masterplan aims to provide information and strategies on infrastructure development such as road networks, public transport consolidation, building guidelines, among others.
The regional offices of the DPWH, DTI, DOTr, LTO, and the municipal mayors of La Trinidad, Sablan and Tublay attended the meeting with NEDA-CAR as the secretariat to the BLISTT Council.
By Marlo Lubguban
