Travel, lift the economy–duterte to Pinoys

TRAVEL local, boost the economy. That was the appeal of President Duterte in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, amid the backdrop of the raging Covid-19 pandemic. He also made a pitch for the creation of an authority to manage Boracay Island, long acknowledged as the crown jewel of Philippine tourism.

He described the tourism and recreation industries as among the “hardest hit” by Covid-19. “While we slowly try to put the fun back in our local travels, the national government agencies and LGUS [local government units] must harmonize their policies to boost tourism [while] ensuring everyone’s wellbeing. We enjoin our people to help boost the economy by traveling locally…once the necessary systems are in place.”

Even as the Department of Tourism (DOT) has encouraged the safe and secure reopening of provinces already under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) to tourism, provincial governors and municipal mayors continue to be hesitant, fearing a surge in Covid-19 cases.

(See, “LGU chiefs, worried by virus, holding up tourism reopening,” in the Businessmirror, July 9, 2020.)

Duterte also urged lawmakers to create a bill establishing the Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA) to sustain the gains of government in rehabilitating the island, which is ongoing. “The rehabilitation of Boracay Island showcased our resolve to safeguard the environment. Boracay is doing well because of its scenery. If it’s only a coconut and a black-white sand and water, wala ‘yan [that’s not much]. Pero you add visitors there, then it becomes a very tempting destination. “We have seen the remarkable reemergence of the island back to its former glory. I want this sustained. I ask Congress to enact a law creating—importante ito— the Boracay Island [Development] Authority or BIDA. We need it.” This was the third consecutive Sona where Duterte specifically mentioned the Boracay rehabilitation as one of his administration’s chief concerns. DOT Undersecretary for Legal and Special Concerns Edwin R. Enrile explained to the Businessmirror, “BIDA will be the successor of BIATF,” the inter-agency task force currently overseeing the rehabilitation of the island. The BIATF’S life was extended to May 8, 2021, as many rehabilitation projects are unfinished. (See, “Many Boracay establishments continue to violate government’s easement rules,” in the Businessmirror, May 22, 2020.) In a separate interview, DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr. said the creation of BIDA was “endorsed by the principals” of the Boracay Inter-agency Task Force in their last meeting on June 11. “They were in agreement that a more permanent structure in place was needed [to manage Boracay],” he said. BIDA was proposed in House Bill 6285 of Rep. Claudine Diana D. Bautista (Dumper-ptda), filed in February. But there are other bills pending in the House and the Senate to establish an authority to manage the island, patterned after the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, with government and private sector representatives as board members. Among them are Sen. Franklin Drilon’s Senate Bill 17 (Boracay Development Authority) filed last year, following Duterte’s approval of a P25-billion Boracay medium-term plan, and Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco’s House Bill 4175 (Boracay Island Council). For his part, Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president Jose C. Clemente III said of the proposed BIDA bill, “Undoubtedly, Boracay is one of the country’s crown jewels of tourism; if the creation of the BIDA is to ensure the preservation of the island and its people, then it is something we can get behind.” However, he also underscored TCP’S appeal to lawmakers “to urgently pass pending legislation on the economic stimulus packages that will help save the tourism industry even more directly.” These include the House’s P1.3-trillion ARISE bill that allocates P58 billion to the DOT’S Tourism Response and Recovery Program, and the Senate’s Bayanihan 2 Law, which gives the tourism sector P10 billion. In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-puyat said it was reassuring for the tourism industry to hear that Duterte acknowledges the significant contribution of tourism to the economy. “This is a very encouraging development knowing that the DOT has the President’s full support as we further our plans to spur the recovery of the industry through the promotion of local travel,” she said. The DOT will continue to engage its partner agencies, LGUS and private stakeholders “to ensure the safety of visitors and communities, and more importantly, in heeding the President’s call to keep tourism destinations and sites sustainable in the process,” she added. The tourism sector has become a significant contributor to the economy, with a 12.7-percent share in GDP in 2019. It also employed 5.7 million Filipinos, reaching a milestone last year with 8.26 million foreign visitors.