Paradise Palawan wallows in abyss
This is a very unusal time. Never in our life had a crisis been this serious
It’s a kind of business that cannot rely on pure hard work since Palawan itself works wonders as a perfect wedding place
Palawan, which is considered the country’s last frontier, suffered from the distress generated by the pandemic as the backbone of the province’s economy which was heavily dependent on tourism has been crippled for four months now.
In Palawan’s capital of Puerto Princesa City, the owner of Dang Maria’s Bar and Breakfast, Jane Timbacaya-Urbanek, had a sad narrative about the hardships that suddenly plagued her business as a wedding planner.
“This is a very unusal time. Never in our life (had a crisis been this serious),” Timbacaya-Urbanek, who is currently director of the Puerto Princesa City Chamber of Commerce and the President of the Association of Tourist Accomodation of Palawan (ATAP), told the Daily Tribune.
In normal times, the city’s 25 hotels, 23 resorts, 57 tourist inns and 159 pension houses in Puerto Princesa City alone would have been bustling with visitors.
They took a direct hit from the pandemic as the tourism industry in Palawan spiraled from the community quarantine imposed.
Matrimonies ebb
Dang Maria became well known as a provider of wedding receptions which enjoyed popularity as a result of the province’s main attraction which is its scenic greeneries.
“It’s a kind of business that cannot rely on pure hard work since Palawan itself works wonders as a perfect wedding place,” Timbancaya-Urbanek said.
“Discussing the survival of the tourism industry should involve the preparation for the reopening of most Palawan businesses,” she stressed.
Tourism is a source of steady income for the residents who mostly work as hotel staff, fish vendors, souvenir item sellers, rent a car employees, employees in restaurants and hotels and indigenous tour groups.
Timbancaya-Urbanek, a pure Cuyonon, is a respected figure in promoting cultural tourism in Palawan and she is also a leader in the protection of the indigenous people namely the Batak, Tagbanua and Palawa’an tribes from further exploitation of lowlanders.
Aid should be fast
“The strategies are ready, like doing on-line marketing, rebooting, or preparing the staff with additional skills,” she said.
Timbacaya-Urbanek urged the government to focus on extending assistance to small businesses affected by the impact of the outbreak.
“So, the ‘ayuda’ (aid) from the government (should be) faster for these to help the business sector particularly the small-scale firms because they have no choice but to ask all their staff to either give a courtesy resignation before other chance... there are so many of them... all the hotels,” Timbancaya-Urbanek said.
“I talked to the staff. They said: ‘ma’m, is it alright if we readjust our schedules? So we started with four days a week but we cannot sustain it because there was really no income,’”
she said.
Common question
“So, I went back to them and said that I cannot do it. Where will I get the money to pay for their salaries?,” she asked. Then they suggested a three-day work week. I felt pity for my staff...,” she sighed.
Timbacaya-Urbanek said “the first thing we did was to really see if we can push for three days a week... and I still have 32 workers.”
She said that it was a challenge to cope with the prevaling situation. “Number one, it is too difficult for them to look for a job,” she said.
I told my employees “if you’re here for three days a week, you can do laundry on the 4th day.”
She said some of her staff have resorted to collecting sea shells along the shores of Canigaran beach in Barangay Bancao-bancao for extra income.
“We reached a stage when I cried ‘oh my God, when will we be back again to normal,’” Timbancaya-Urbanek said.
She then said that to keep their take-out business alive, she and her remaining employees started to think of different “packaging” strategies.
“... You know chicken gordon blue that is not so Pinoy... we tried to package it,” she said.
“We came up with our own design,” she said. The packaging was made by the Tagbanua women.
It’s survival. If we can have money for the payment of salaries... and money for stocks, then I’m happy with it
Discussing the survival of the tourism industry should involve the preparation for the reopening of most Palawan businesses
Bamboo buho (a variety of the plant) strip and banana leaves are used as indigenous packaging for mashed potato or rice, salad and chicken gordon blue inside these.
“We are packaging using this box made up of buho, and the Palaw’an “bilao”... if possible I am also contacting the Bataks,” Timbacaya-Urbanek said.
“If you would look at my Facebook account, you would see the packaging. You would see it is authentic, we use buri to tie up the package because we have plenty of buho and we can buy “buri” from the market,” she explained.
Hope revitalized
The tireless businesswoman said she with the new packaging they were able to increase their sales.
Palawan governor Jose Alvarez took out orders from Timbancaya-Urbanek for contingent in Pag-asa island in West Philippine sea on 12 June in time for the independnce day celebration.
“Surving for me is not stopping to think of ways and means how to attract people’s attention to your product,” Timbancaya-Urbanek said.
She said she had trained the staff to be not so particular about time: “We have had several meetings with them, and we told them, we are in this together, if you like to keep your jobs, then pray for this business... nadun
dapat ang malasakit...,” she said. “It is an uphill climb... I’m thinking not profit at this time... not profit,” she said. “It’s survival. If we can have money for the payment of salary... and money for stocks, then I’m happy with it. I will source somewhere my payments for the electricity and other bills like telephones and gasoline, that’s it.” She lamented that after “everything (was) said and done, the government agencies cannot teach us.”
The situation they are facing now is that “if you own a restaurant and is required to pay up for Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, SSS and taxes” then businesses have little to spare since most in the sector are also struggling and wanted to survive sometimes through cut-throat competition.
Cooking from home
So, many learned to cook from their homes and do their marketing online. There are so many of them. You can ask other restaurants, they know it,” she said.
Timbancaya-Urbanek noted the unfair level of competition between them and online businesses which evade obligations such as payments of Pag-IBIG, Social Security System and Philhealth.
“Look at Facebook, almost all (are into deliveries). Everyone... one delivers Kare-kare, another delivers
lumpia,” she said.
In spite of what is going on in Puerto Princesa, hoteliers are still doing their share in the battle against the dreaded disease by settling legal obligations to the government.
“But the thing is, while we are doing this, I’m doing something by beefing my garden because later on people might want to see it,“Timbancaya-Urbanek said.
She had intoduced farm visits as tour itinerary to the visiting guests in the city.
The survivor businesswoman, thus, has conceptualized “farm tourism” as an alternative business in Puerto Princesa, a plan which would have been in full throttle if not for the the pandemic.