The Tourist Rest Area (TRA), a project of the Department of Tourism and the local government unit (LGU), here has been serving visitors and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) since it was opened in May this year.

April Glo Banayat, administrative staff of the Naguilian local government, in an interview on Thursday, said around 1,000 tourists have used the amenities of the TRA aside from the residents of the town who also availed of its amenities.

“It has comfort rooms and charging stations and sitting areas for visitors. We usually cater tourists who come here in groups,” she said in Filipino.

Banayat said there are also 30 MSMEs who are given free space to display their products.

“They are mostly the one-barangay-one-product of the villages while other villages has no display yet since their products are seasonal,” she said.

Among the products being displayed at the TRA are the Bacagan Bamboo handicrafts, Magungunay Labtang baskets, food products such as soybeans flakes, vegetable chips, processed lemon products, and the town’s famous Basi or the sugarcane wine.

Naguilian LGU supervising administrative officer Jeffrey Patacsil, in a separate interview, said most of the villages of the town are producing basi (fermented alcoholic beverage) and its processing has been preserved throughout generations.

He said the LGU is in partnership with the cooperatives to assist them in their production needs and at the same time ensure quality materials and produce.

“The processing center was established by the LGU and the equipment were from the Department of Trade and Industry,” he added.

Patacsil said they are working on the necessary documents to be able to export their Basi.

“There is high demand for the product locally and oversees by our fellow citizens who are abroad,” he said. (PNA)