Cebu DOT office opens for business

Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano officially declared open the Cebu office of the Department of Tourism last week, designating undersecretary Phineas Alburo as point person or action man.

Alburo, also a Cebuano, is the former director of the DOT-7 office.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Alburo said the office located at the ground floor of the Civil Service Commission in Sudlon, barangay Lahug, Cebu City had a soft opening last July 1.

"We want the public to know that we are already operational," he said adding that, "we will be serving constituents in the islands of the Visayas and Mindanao and provide support to different regional tourism offices and local government units."

The DOT Cebu office will also respond to special tourism concerns and issues as well as serve the Office of the Cabinet officer for regional developments for Region VII.

Shortly after his appointment as tourism secretary, President Arroyo also named Durano as cabinet officer for regional development in Central Visayas, automatically making him a member of the Regional Development Council.

"This is part of the decentralization of government offices to make them more accessible to the people. If there are concerns in the region, we will be there to assist. We welcome requests from local governments," Alburo said.

While the construction of their office at the South Reclamation Project is stalled because of the dispute between Cebu City and Talisay City, they will hold office in Sudlon, he said.

The DOT also launched recently the "Cebu Plus", a marketing strategy to promote Cebu as a tourist destination to meet the target of five million tourists by 2010.

The recent McKinsey report identified Bohol and Cebu as top tourist destinations in the country, chosen by both local and foreign tourists. - Wenna A. Berondo