Comval to build Asia’s longest Zipline

DAVAO CITY May 21 (PIA)- The Provincial Government of Compostela Valley will be building a 1.5- kilometer zipline at Camp Manual Yan in Mawab.The P3-million project if completed will be Asia’s longest Zipline eclipsing the 840-meter Dahilayan Zipline in Bukidnon.

According to Christine T. Dompor, Provincial Tourism Officer the zipline will start at its highest point in Camp Manuel Yan and will descend 1,500 meters down to Hijo River. Dompor said that preparatory works are underway and the zipline is estimated to be completed later this year.

The zipline are among the developments introduced to the sprawling 100 hectare army camp which has been declared as an eco-tourism park. Aside from facilities in the camp, they are also looking into developing the nearby Hijo River to complement the tourism attractions in the area.

A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between the Province and the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division to develop and promote the military camp/eco-tourism park.

Aside from the ziplines, the area is also being readied as a caving and spelunking destination. Mahayahay Cave located in the camp has been identified as another tourism site.Lt. Colonel Paniza, commander of the 72nd infantry  battalion, a tenant unit of the camp said that extra care has been enforced to preserve the caves, he bared that strict military regulations even forbade military personnel from entering the caves without due permission from the municipal tourism office of Mawab.

Visitors are also required to plant Lawaan trees before they are allowed to visit the caves. According to Paniza the military is keen in bringing back the once lush Lawaan forests in the area before they were cut down to make way for farming communities.Tree parks, an Indigenous People’s Village, a 3-kilometer trekking trail, a deer sanctuary, a heroes park are among the facilities currently being developed by the Army in the camp as part of the efforts to develop it into an eco-tourism park.

The camp served as the regional headquarters and training camp of the New People’s Army in the 1980s before Army troops wrested it permanently in 1986 converting it into a base for an army brigade. In early 2011, the 10th Infantry Division relocated to the area from their original base in Camp Panacan, Davao City. (PIA 11/RG Alama)