Strawberry farms in La Trinidad attract tourists during Visita Iglesia season

Several tourists have included trips to the strawberry farms in La Trinidad, Benguet as part of their Visita Iglesia pilgrimages in Baguio City.

According to a Bea Pinlac's report on "24 Oras," tourists flocked to strawberry fields in the area despite surging fuel prices due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

“Push namin kasi ni-request ng mother ko. Para hindi sayang sa gas, is pagsunod-sunurin ang locations na malalapit,” shared tourist Kimberley dela Rosa.

(We still went through with it because my mother requested it. So that we didn’t waste the gas, we visited locations that were all near each other.)

Shop owners near the strawberry farms said that while they were able to make a profit due to the increased visitors during the Holy Week, it was still not enough to compare with the foot traffic before oil prices spiked.

“Simula po kahapon, dumami na po yung tao. Kaya konti na po dumadayo ngayon kasi mahal na yung gasoline at diesel po ngayon, kaya konti yung kita namin,” said strawberry picking guide Jonalyn Talicuad.

(Since yesterday, there have been more and more people. There have been fewer travellers recently since gasoline and diesel are expensive now, so our income is low.)

Meanwhile, other tourists in Baguio City also visited some churches in the area

“Nawawala yung mga problema sa buhay. Ngayon, nararamdaman ko na ang bigat ng krus na dinadala ko, kako. Kaya sabi ko, salamat Lord,” said Rupert, who carried a cross on his back while visiting the stations of the cross.

(My problems suddenly disappeared. Now, I can feel the heavy cross that was being carried. That’s why I said, thank you, Lord.)

“Gusto pa namin bigyan ng importansya ang Panginoon. Siya pa rin naman kasi yung sentro ng relationship namin. Ang dami naming prayers na sinagot talaga ni Lord. Minsan lang kami sumobra, pero never kami nagkulang,” added Cirila de Guzman, who had been visiting the city with her husband and baby.

(We still wanted to give importance to God. He is still the center of our relationship. We already had a lot of prayers that the Lord answered. We only have more to spare sometimes, but we never had less than what we needed.) –Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/NB, GMA News