Berna Romulo-Puyat invites everyone to experience the beauty and majesty of the Philippine islands
BERNA ROMULO PUYAT on visiting far-off lands and overseeing the switch towards sustainability and ethical tourism
When Berna Romulo Puyat was younger, stepping out into the public eye and working in government service had never been her plan. The daughter of former Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Romulo and Lovely Tecson, she grew up surrounded by adults immersed in the political sphere and came from a long line of Romulos who had devoted themselves to the nation. Everything young Berna had learned of that world had her determined to be a homemaker, like her mother, but life, as it often does, had different plans for her.
A graduate of the University of The Philippines with an undergraduate and master’s degree in economics, she was first an educator at the university’s School of Economics before the political bug bit her. In 2004, she ran for the position of First District Representative of Quezon City, an endeavor that ended in a loss but gave her the experience of connecting with constituents. She soon started the Botika ng Bayan program, which worked to provide medicine and generic drugs to the indigent.
Her next step was the position of Undersecretary for Special Concerns at the Department of Agriculture, a role she held for close to 12 years which allowed her to travel all over the Philippines, working on agrarian reform and hearing the issues of women who worked on the fields. “I was a stranger to my own country and before I entered the Department of Agriculture, I actually preferred going abroad,” reflects Berna, “But because of my job at the DA, I had the chance to not only appreciate our farmers but also see that the beauty of our country. It is not only the sights but the people as well.”
When Berna was given the mandate of Department of Tourism Secretary in May 2018, it was her background at the DA that gave her the confidence to say yes, despite knowing the mountainous challenges before her. “I never expected the job to be easy since I've worked for the government for so long,” she says. “Our work is 24/7 and there are no holidays.”
REHABILITATING AN ICON
The DoT was coming fresh off a corruption scandal, so the first thing Berna did was to clean house. Boracay, the nation’s top tourist destination was closed for rehabilitation, and the DOT quickly became part of the refurbishing project. While the task sometimes seemed impossible, Berna says the support of the President was important in alleviating inevitable problems. “Before I entered the DoT, he said he would back me up in all my decisions provided that there is no corruption and that all laws should be implemented,” she says.
She is thankful that he kept his word and was in full support of the project and its proponents, including the Boracay Interagency Task Force, which comprised of Department of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ed Año in implementing all environmental laws. “All major decisions regarding Boracay were discussed in the cabinet meetings and the President guided and supported us,” she says.
The question of why things had to get so bad in Boracay before anyone did anything about it remains unanswered for now, but Berna is thankful for the wake-up call. “It inspired a movement to take care of our tourist spots because it showed what would happen if we didn’t,” she says, pointing out that it encouraged collaboration between the local and national government, private enterprises and those who actually lived there. “It proved that if we work together, we can ensure that our seas remain clean and thriving with marine life, our mountains and forests stay green and flourishing, and our cultural heritage continues to enrich future generations.”
As short as ten years ago, the very idea of responsible tourism would’ve been unheard of in the Philippines, but the rehabilitation of the oncenotorious party island, and how those in the Task Force stopped it from turning into a cautionary tale like Laos’ Vang Vien to a paragon of sustainability owes much of its success to hard work. “Our efforts in Boracay are now replicated in other provinces to ensure the environmental integrity of our tourist destinations,” says Berna. “It has also enticed the private sector to come up with their own initiatives to promote sustainable and responsible tourism in its business activities. We have actively engaged corporate entities, big and small, to aid tourism to deliver this message on sustainability.”
The result has been paramount in ensuring Boracay’s future as a haven for both tourists and Filipinos. Berna is proud to note that their success has made the Philippines a champion of Sustainable Tourism around the world. “We have been receiving recognition, such as the Excellent Partner Award given by the Japan Tourism Awards for this feat. The island also ranked first among the “Best Islands in Asia” for 2019 by Condé Nast Traveler,” she notes.
IMPROVEMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE
While efforts in Boracay are continuing, Berna mentions the other goal for the DoT is to improve travel within the country. “One of the key issues of the tourism industry identified by the National Tourism Development Plan (NDTP) for 2016-2022 is to intensify Tourism Infrastructure Development and improve policies for seamless travel and connectivity,” she says.
“Bo ra cay proved that if we work together, we can ensure that our seas remain clean and thriving with marine life, our mountains and forests stay green and flourishing, and our cultural heritage continues to en rich future generations .”
A strategy to address these concerns is to improve tourism infrastructure through convergence programs with different agencies like the DOT-DPWH Tourism Roads Infrastructure Program (TRIP). According to Berna, this prioritizes road projects that will bring access and shorten travel time to tourism sites and destinations.
Complaints on social media are never about the destinations themselves, but usually, about what it takes to get there, and the experiences in local airports that make what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation into a stressful, harried one. To remedy this, the DoT is working with the Department of Transportation (DOTr)/Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines ( CAAP) through a convergence program called the Institutionalized Leveraging Infrastructure Program for Airport Development (iLIPAD). “This will identify and prioritize the development and infrastructure needs of airports to improve the tourist experience in the country,” says Berna.
Berna believes that these programs will support the development and promotion of tourism circuits and increase the yields from a longer length of stay and higher spending by domestic and foreign tourists. “This is aligned with the current administration’s programs to aid in poverty reduction,” she says.
Places in focus are Baguio, Bohol, Siargao, Siquijor, Davao, Coron, and El Nido. Improvements will include potential interventions pertaining to urban planning, water supply, sanitation, waste management, tourism facilities, energy, transport, conservation-based tourism, natural resources management, disaster risk management, health, and skills development for tourism SMEs.
A few years ago, a Lebanese-Canadian man named John Abou-Samra visited Coron to see the verdant beauty of Kayangan Lake. After an accident that led him to visit the Coron District Hospital, he noticed that despite being a small hospital with a lack of medical equipment, the materials were well kept and the service and kindness of its medical professionals were worldclass. He donated a 1.2 million PHP ($23,300) worth of medical equipment for the hospital. Berna says the warm and friendly nature of Filipinos; more than the natural surroundings on offer is what continues to make the Philippines a place to visit. “We remain a top destination for foreign tourists because of the warmth and hospitality of Filipinos,” says Berna.
THE RISE OF LOCAL TRAVELERS
In the last ten years, there has been a greater proliferation of Filipinos wanting to travel within the country. Gone are the days when a weekend trip to Hong Kong was the only option for those who wanted a special short-haul experience. Each pocket of the Philippines offers something special for local travelers. “Domestic tourism has been
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steadily growing due to the opening of new routes and destinations and improvements in connectivity and infrastructure,” says Berna. “According to The Philippine Statistics Authority, domestic tourist arrivals grew by 15.1 percent from the previous year. From 96,720,627 in 2017 it grew to 111,350,293 in 2018.”
This resulting change can trace its roots in the rise of social media, which Berna calls a game-changer. “It's free and effective because people now want to travel and experience what they see on Facebook or Instagram.” The rise of social media has also helped Filipinos be more aware of the environment and how each citizen has a role to play in ensuring the country becomes environmentally sustainable. “Programs like Save Our Spots (SOS), is geared towards reminding Filipinos to respect our tourist destinations, wherever you are, and whatever your role in the community is,” she says.
FROM THE FARM TO THE TABLE
At the DA, Berna was a champion of the slow food movement, which is geared towards supporting local cooking traditions and ensuring the sustainability of production and consumption. At the DoT, she has transitioned to putting importance to farm tourism. She mentions the enactment of RA 10816, The Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016, wherein the DoT is tasked to formulate plans and programs for the development and promotion of farm tourism in the Philippines and to set the overall direction for the implementation of the Farm Tourism Strategic Plan (FTSP). “As the lead agency, we will develop the FTSP with a vision of making Philippine Farm Tourism a global standard tourism product, and an important economic pillar of rural development through expanded business platforms,” she says. “The importance of Farm Tourism is to be able to help the agriculture industry and local farmers by providing a good avenue for nature-based tourism sites to offer farm-to-table food linkages, and learning sites.”
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Berna says the biggest misconception about her job is that people assume it is merely one that is glamorous, because of the traveling involved to various destinations. Not so, according to her. “Our role is not only to promote the country but also to develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity to generate foreign currency and employment. Tourism is a major contributor to economic growth. It is 12.7 percent of our gross domestic product,” she says. “We are talking of around 5.4 million people in 2018, who were directly employed in tourism. This makes up 13% of the total employment in the country today. Both our GDP and employment are higher than the world average. It's a lot of hard work that's why we also need to work closely with the private sector.”
Today’s shoot in Palawan is an apt location to host the Secretary of the Department of Tourism. Berna reels off facts about the beauty of the place, mentioning that it has been tagged as a place to visit by a number of foreign traditional and digital publications.
Boracay’s influence is felt here, its rehabilitation used as a benchmark to create a culture of sustainable tourism. “The preservation of Palawan is currently being done through the joint efforts of DOT, DENR, and DILG,” says Berna. These joint efforts will hopefully help preserve the island’s charm, which is manifested through its natural beauty, well-preserved tropical rainforests that are habitat to exotic flora and fauna, lush underwater worlds, primeval caves, long stretches of beautiful white sand beaches, clear turquoise waters, and above all, “the beautiful smiles of the hospitable Palaweños.”