SUN and beach, and diving.
Those are the activities being promoted by the Department of Tourism (DOT), and not casinos on Boracay. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat made this clear during the agency’s recent budget hearing with the House Committee on Appropriations.
“When it comes to the promotion of casinos, it is also under the Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.]. It is not under the Department of Tourism [DOT]. When we promote our country, we promote sun and beach.”
She made this comment after being asked by Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna if the DOT will now be promoting gaming after President Duterte lifted the ban on casinos on the island, famous around the world for its long stretch of powdery white sand. This was Romulo Puyat’s first public statements on the issue, after repeatedly evading questions from the media following Duterte’s policy flip-flop.
She added that what foreign tourists are looking for right now, “is how safe it is here to come to the country when travel restrictions are lifted. They want to know if our tourism workers are vaccinated, which we are doing. The health and safety [aspect]… But we continue to promote sun and beach, diving, etc.”
Pressed by Zarate if she welcomed the lifting of the casino ban on Boracay, Romulo Puyat was curt: “That’s the decision of the President. So we follow the President.”
In a public conversation with select members of the Cabinet on August 26, Duterte said he has allowed casinos to open on Boracay due to the supposed pressing need for government revenues. Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed, however, increased revenues and state underspending in the first half of the year. (See, “Boracay casino not my idea—DOF chief,” in the BusinessMirror, August 31, 2021.)
The DOT is seeking a budget of some P3.53 billion to further push the recovery of the tourism industry in 2022. This is higher than the P2.78 billion allotted this year, of which P977 million has been obligated. In the first half of the year, the DOT has utilized 39 percent of its allotment. Several congressmen supported an increase in the DOT’s budget for 2022.
Meanwhile, about 70 informal settlers located in the Balon area in Intramuros, Manila, will finally move to their new homes in Morong, Rizal before the end of the year, according to Intramuros Administrator lawyer Guiller Asido at the same budget hearing. The IA is an attached agency of the DOT.
The resettlement of informal settlers in the walled city, a popular tourism destination in Metro Manila, is being conducted in partnership with the Socialized Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC).
Replying to Manila Rep. Cristal Bagatsing, Asido said he will be consulting with SHFC officials for other possible relocation areas that might be nearer to the informal settlers’ work places.
Bagatsing said she would sponsor budget augmentations of DOT’s attached agencies after it was revealed that the Department of Budget and Management only allotted P63.7 million to the IA for 2022, way below its budget proposal of P268 million.
With P63.7 million, “It would just leave us 23 percent for conservation and maintenance….We hope we could get an increase…the additional budget will go to security, not to salaries and bonuses, [but] basically to ensure the security and maintenance of the parks and also the sites that we are concerned about.”
Earlier, Asido said because of the DBM’s budget cut, the IA will also be unable to insure the works of art and heritage pieces in Intramuros, a point raised by the Commission on Audit in the agency’s audit report for 2020. (See, “Artifacts, artwork at Intramuros, National Museum ‘uninsured,’” in the BusinessMirror, July 14, 2021.)