A star in the heart of Masbate

MOBO, Masbate—In Bituon Beach Resort in this town, you can go romping on a white-sand beach after enjoying horseback riding on a 20-hectare plantation.

The resort, which is just a 30-minute ride from Masbate City, was named after the “biton” tree.

It was established in the 1980s by Dennis Nuñez with his only sister on a 90-hectare of tree-covered land that slopes toward a cove fringed by white-sand beach.

“We named it after biton but we decided to twist the name a little by making it “bituon” or star in the Bicol language,” said Nuñez, 67, now a retired businessman.

He said the resort was built little by little at a time when there was no other resort yet in Masbate.

Nuñez said the idea of turning the family-owned property into a resort came from a friend of his father who first saw the tourism potential of the place.

So instead of dividing the property he inherited with his sister, they decided to turn it into a resort that operates as a corporation.

Through income from the resort they were able to make improvements on the place which they now market not only as a vacation spot but also as a venue for conventions and all other occasions.

“Our resort has a hall that could accommodate 400 persons at most,” he said.

Other facilities of the resort include cottages with anahaw (footstool palm) roofing , sing-along bars, retail store, souvenir shops, bowling lanes, tennis courts and a coconut plantation, where anyone can enjoy horseback riding and driving of four-wheel motorcycles.

“We are offering our resort as a stopover for tourists from mainland Bicol who take the Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off ferry) to Cebu.”

Masbate province lies between Bicol and the Central Visayas Regions and is at the crossroads of nautical highways in the country.

“We are hoping that the influx of tourists in Bicol and Cebu would spill over to our province.”

To cater to both domestic and international tourists the resort has cottages and rooms where accommodation costs from P200 for open cottages to P3,500 for a cozy room with flat screen television, refrigerator and king-size beds for vacationers who prefer high-end amenities.

The resort offers seafood on its menu, from shrimp, crabs to fish—presented in various dishes that are both Bicolano and Visayan-inspired. It also offers chicken, pork, and beef dishes.

For an entrance fee of P50 per head, guests can stroll on the resort’s acacia-covered walks before swimming in the cove blessed with blue green waters and a one-kilometer beach line.

They could also avail of fishing lines to catch fish in the fishponds and have them cooked at a price.

Guests could also explore the waters of the cove and Masbate Pass using a jet ski at P2,000 per hour.

Nuñez admits that tourism in Masbate has been overshadowed by negative news, especially those that speak of political violence.

Nevertheless, they expect that it (tourism) would recover if “everyone would strive to create a good image for Masbate.”

He said the additional flights to Masbate City have in many ways helped improve tourism.

“I hope more airlines would have regular flights to Masbate. More flights really boost tourism.”

Tourists who  choose not to take planes would have to ride a fast craft that plies the Burias Island and Masbate Pass from Pilar, Sorsogon in Bicol mainland to Masbate City.

“Our place is far from the crowd. It offers a respite to the hustle of urban living. Surely, Bituon Beach is an alternative to, say, Boracay.”

Tourist influx in the resort peaks during the celebration of Rodeo Masbateño Festival in this island province which is held April every year.