Keep room rates low during Papal visit

CHURCH officials appeal to hotel owners to be more considerate with the rates as millions of tourists and pilgrims are expected to troop to Manila for the scheduled visit of Pope Francis in the country in January.

Fr. Jaime Marquez, member of the organizing committee in charge of the accommodationforthePapalVisit2015, said that although hotel rates is an economic matter, they are appealing to the owners of theestablishmentsespeciallyin Manila to give considerations for those who will attend the religious gathering.

Marquez said that room rates of hotels near the the Quirino Grandstand and Rizal Park have soared to as high as $400 (close to P17,000) per night.

The church official urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to appeal to companies and establishments not to use the religious event to increase their profit.

“Let us appeal to all the business sector to consider all these things. [But] there are many people who are accom- modating. If you have friends from abroad and they have difficultyfindingahotel,accommodate them,” he said

Presidential CommunicationsOperationOffice (PCOO) undersecretary for legislative, policy and legal affairs Jess Uy said that they will ask Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez to see the reports.

“We will coordinate with the DOT regarding that matter, ayaw natin na sobrang itatas yung mga rates. That’s a [cause] of concern,” he said.

Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Marciano Paynor, who is a member of the Papal Visit executive committee, said that the organizing board is expecting more six-million people to attend the five-day event.

(John Carlo Cahinhinan/Sunnex)