Governor Casimiro “Jun” Ynares III is eyeing the development of Rizal province as one of the country’s top educational hubs in the near future, with steps already under way to make the vision come to fruition.

During an informal meeting with Manila Bulletin editors, Ynares, a De La Salle graduate, said that he is now working closely with academics from Ateneo to come up with master plan for the province to enable it to maximize its potentials in the field of education, trade and tourism.

He said that the Ateneo professors were the ones who volunteered for the project, and as governor, he is always open to working all people who want to contribute to the development of the province.

Ynares said the program to turn Rizal in to an education hub is still in the planning stage but measures are already under way to make education the selling point of the province.

“We already have San Beda, the University of Rizal System (URS), Perpetual Help of Rizal and many others. Our thrust is to make Rizal an education hub,” he said. “And this is already starting -- with the help of Chairman (Don Emilio) Yap (of CEU), the recent number 2 and number 13 CPA board passers were from the URS.”

“The number 7 in the list of geodetic engineer passers was also from Rizal,” he said.

Ynares also said that among the province’s thrusts will be the development of industries so that Rizaleños would be able to earn their livelihood without having to travel to Manila.

“As a matter of fact, some of the call centers have begun moving to Rizal. We already have one in Cainta, and one in Taytay,” he said. He added that he wants the people of Rizal to travel to Manila only to enjoy themselves.

The young governor said measures are also underway to develop venues to hold events as an added draw for local tourists.

“Thunderbird (resort) in Binanongonan is already constructing an event venue with 50 rooms in addition to the 50 that they already have,” he said.

He said they are also holding conventions with stakeholders on the planned thrusts of the province to become at par with its more developed counterparts like Cavite, and Laguna, home to economic zones and commercial centers.

Among the draws of the province is having one of the best road networks in the country – eight lanes of smooth roads.

“Some residents are asking for humps to be placed on the highway because they can travel so fast it might cause accidents, but how can you put humps on a highway?” he said.