Welcome to 'paradise' in Nueva Ecija town

\FOR THE BRAVE OF HEART You can sky-ride on a bike at the Paradise Farm Resort in General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija, that is, if you’re not afraid of heights, and enjoy the view from up above. But it’s best not to look down. – Celso M. Cajucom

By Celso M. Cajucom

GEN. TINIO, Nueva Ecija – There are bad typhoons and there are "good" typhoons.
Or so retired Philippine Army major Pablo Pagtalunan believes.
    The ex-military officer-turned-businessman seemed to be philosophical about recent Tropical Storm "Paeng" being "kinder" than Typhoon "Karding" immediately before it — at least to his home province of Nueva Ecija.
    Much has been reported about Paeng having exacted death and destruction of property in many parts of the country last week, particularly the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur in Mindanao, but it did little damage to Nueva Ecija in Region 3 (Central Luzon).
    Karding, on the other hand, according to Pagtalunan, caused damage to his major investment worth P20 million — the Paradise Farm Resort that he owns in Gen. Tinio town, formerly Papaya, in Nueva Ecija — and felled thousands of trees inside the sprawling enterprise.
    Provincial disaster officials reported that P3 billion in agricultural crops, P35 million in infrastructure and P65 million in irrigation facilities were affected by Karding's fury in Nueva Ecija.

Little by little, however, Pagtalunan said, he had recouped his losses from this typhoon, only to be surprised again by Paeng. "Hindi grabe" (Not worse), he put it in an interview with this writer last week.

Guests and visitors, he noted, are slowly coming back to the Paradise Farm Resort, which is recognized by the Dept. of Tourism as the largest unique draw of its kind, offering exciting amenities and facilities at its site in Barangay Nazareth.

Meanwhile, lawyer Jose Maria Ceasar San Pedro, provincial tourism officer, said in spite of previous typhoons and other calamities, tourism is bouncing back in 27 towns and five cities of Nueva Ecija.