PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, July 20 (PNA) -– The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) is set to finance the rehabilitation of the Cotta Fort in the nearby Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental.
Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog said Monday that TIEZA general manager Mark Lapid promised to allocate PhP25 million to help the city government rehabilitate the Cotta Fort.
The Cotta Fort was built in 1755 by Fr. Jose Ducos to serve as a Spanish outpost to defend the city against attacks by pirates and to provide shelter to ships of the Spanish fleet at that time.
Parojinog said the funding that would come from TIEZA will be used to rehabilitate the walls of the fort and to establish Cotta Park to attract tourists, both domestic and foreign.
Parojinog said that the rehabilitation of the Cotta Fort is in line with the vision of the local government to make Ozamiz City a tourist destination here in Mindanao.
Parojinog said Lapid has made the assurance to finance the rehabilitation of the Cotta Fort when the TIEZA official graced Ozamiz City’s 67th Charter Day anniversary and Feast of Nuestra Señora Concepcion y del Triunfo on Thursday.
Lapid was accompanied by his father, Senator Manuel Lapid during his visit to Ozamiz City. (PNA)