Increase in income and employment generation prompted the local government of Daanbantayan, Cebu to invest P333 million in projects.

Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura summarized his achievements from November 2022 to December 2023, citing the P300 million Astrodome as one of the big-ticket projects for tourism and sports programs.

It also included a P33.5 million agricultural projects which include Triple A slaughterhouses worth P15 million from Cebu Province and a Community Fish Landing Center at P2.85 million from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7).

The Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) is providing P300,000 for the rehabilitation of the town's greenhouse; P700,000 for the construction of a seed bodega; and P200,000 for the municipal plant nursery.

While the Department of Labor and Employment, through the Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (Dileep) worth P14,534,665 to support incomes, provides employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to displaced, disadvantaged, and unemployed workers

Shimura told DAILY TRIBUNE that the Astrodome Phase 1 started in June 2023 in Barangay Agujo valued at P39,147,752.83 and funded by 4th District Representative Janice Salimbangon through DPWH-7. The 2,000 square meter astrodome can accommodate 5,700 people.

The astrodome will be used for big events, like regional and national sports meets, as it also be converted into an evacuation center during calamities.

Shimura believes that once completed, this would boost employment and tourism in the town.

He cited Daanbantayan being the second most visited town by local and foreign tourists in 2022 in Cebu Province and ranked number five in the entire Cebu island, based on the Department of Tourism data.

The mayor disclosed 58 accredited resorts and home-stays in the mainland barangays and the island of Malapascua.

Other infrastructure achievements were the building of the two-story Malapascua port; covered court in Poblacion, establishment of the Maya Food Park; improvement of the quadrangle in Tagasa, Maya; the development of the municipal plaza extension for senior citizens; and the expansion to Phase 2 of the Municipal Cemetery.

Shimura added that the wet market had been improved and a wastewater treatment facility constructed. An operational passenger waiting area in Sitio Mahayahay Poblacion, and fenced the Balay Silangan Rehabilitation and Reformation Center, a temporary shelter for drug offenders.