The 10,000 Roses Cafe sits at the center of a reclaimed part of Barangay Day-as, just next to Lantaw Floating Restaurant. But while Lantaw actually floats on Cordova's shallow seawater (as it is either standing on stilts or being buoyed up by plastic drums; the original structure is on stilts while the extensions are being floated), the 10,000 Rose Cafe is on a solid floor. Cemented ground.
The new reclaimed part is at the tip of what I believe is Day-as' wharf. At the entrance you'll see a one-story building for souvenirs, at the back of it a parking space, then ahead is the spacious place where people can marvel at the two sections of the white roses in the middle, and the two-story coffee shop on the far side. From what I've heard the whole place is rented (thru a PPP agreement?) by a Korean businessman named Cho who owns the coffee shop.
From cordova.gov.ph, the town prides in its coastal resources management efforts. In 1999, Cordova established the Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary and the Nalusuan Island Marine Sanctuary in 2002. It also declared "the tip of Day-as Wharf in Barangay Day-as" as a Marine Habitat Village in 2003 because of the abundance of mangroves in the area.
Today, Nalusuan Island is owned by the Mendozas; and the Gilutungan Marine Sanctuary, which was the top-earner of Cordova at P500,000 per month (as of 2008), is being leased to a Korean firm, which is owned by the mayor's husband.
The 10,000 Roses Cafe is reportedly owned by the mayor's stepson.
And if that tip of Day-as Wharf, which is a protected area as declared by the town council in 2003, is now where the cafe stands, what happened to that law? I hope that's not the wharf the website is talking about. But while I was there I saw mangroves along the road-wharf, even a good portion of that section was converted into a parking space. But then again, I could be wrong.
I am not so familiar with Cordova and its previous development. I hope to be enlightened.
(For comments, email author at vatski@gmail.com)
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