MANILA, Philippines – Aside from providing incentives and tax perks to local and foreign investors to boost investments, the Board of Investments (BOI) has created a pool of experts to help Local Government Units (LGUs) advance their economic activities, and maximize their potentials.
BOI governor Oliver Butalid announced during the presentation of the Philippines' Investment Priority Plan (IPP) 2010, that the group of experts will primarily train LGUs on maximizing the tourism potential of their respective localities, in both promotion and identifying tourism strength.
The present government which recognizes tourism as the 4th engine of growth for the country has directed an inter-agency collaboration to push a maximum tourism growth, thereby providing revenues for LGUs and hike employment generation.
Butalid said this free-of-charge consultation service for LGUs, will help them formulate an effective medium and long investment plan and investors code, as well as create a roadmap on how to promote tourism in their respective towns or provinces.
Because of the manpower limitation, Butalid said the deployment of the experts will be at "per request" basis in the provincial level, "we can immediately send trainers for free."
Realizing that not all mayors and LGU executives are businessmen, Butalid said BOI has purposely created this specific department to coach LGUs how to be "captains of industries."
During the whole day seminar of the IPP 2010 held at the Crown Regency Hotel, Butalid urged LGU executives from Cebu province, and other neighboring provinces, to be progressive and seize the wealth of opportunities waiting to be tapped in their home-ground.
He said plans for putting their money into traditional projects such as public market modernization, bus terminal improvements, should be a "thing in the past", saying there a lot of money-making opportunities aside from these conventional projects.
"At present, the menu of economic activities that are initiated by some Mayors are too limited," he said emphasizing that LGUs should now embrace the enterprising frontier, in line with the government's thrust of pursuing Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
LGU executives are encouraged to follow the examples of some progressive LGUs, like the enterprising Danao-Bohol strategy of maximizing its adventure tourism advantage through the establishment of 60-hectare Danao Adventure Park in Bohol province.
Also, Butalid mentioned the brilliant idea of an enterprising LGU in Camarines Sur (CamSur) led by its provincial governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Jr., in converting an area into a world-class sports-tourism destination.
The CamSur provincial government spent multi-million pesos to build and operate several tourism-related facilities like the water-sports facility-the six-hectare CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) and its plan to build a downhill bike trail, that will be the largest in the world so far.
The CamSur, and Danao-Bohol initiatives for enterprising LGUs, should be emulated by LGUs around the country. Mayors are urged to think pro-actively and put politics at the side.
"To other Mayors-the time [to make money] is now. Seize the day. Seize the moment," Butalid told Mayors from different towns in Cebu and the Central Visayas region that were present during the conference. (FREEMAN)