Despite its enormous potentials in tourism, marine, mineral and agricultural resources, the municipality of Caramoan remains underdeveloped. In a recent survey funded by the United Nations, Caramoan was listed as the sixth poorest town in the province of Camarines Sur in the Philippines, which has 35 towns and two cities.

In a large measure this is attributable to lack of initiatives on the part of the government at various levels and rapport with the private sector. This is the premise by which the Caramoan Residents Association in Naga City and its Environs (CRANE) was revived and reactivated in 2005 after being dormant for over two decades.

The primordial objective is for the organization to serve as catalyst for growth and development in the entire Caramoan Peninsula by immediately harnessing the economic prospects of more than a dozen fabulous beaches and exotic islets with world-class tourism potentials around the municipality. The initial step was to convince the national leadership to pursue the Caramoan coastal road which is about 25 kilometers shorter than the existing rugged and circuitous mountain road. Because of the CRANE initiative the road is now under fullblast implementation with an allocation of P250 million.

The next step is to bring in investors for the necessary tourist facilities and amenities since presently there are only four small hostels in the town. Despite the inadequacies local and foreign tourists have started to flock to our once hidden paradise but a tourism boom is not far-fetched once investments start to pour in.
 
It is still a long way ahead for CRANE but we have made an auspicious start. And prosperity for Caramoan is visible in the horizon.

DOMINADOR C. ALARKON, JR.

President