DOT wins big in governance awards

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) led the cast of awardees from the Philippines in the just-concluded 2024 GovMedia Conference & Awards at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore.

DOT led by Cebuana Secretary Christina Frasco received two prestigious awards for its flagship program Tourist Rest Area (TRA) that provides convenience and comfort to tourists as well as its Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) training program that highlights the country’s commitment to elevating the standards of hospitality and service across the tourism and service industries.

“We celebrate these big wins for the Philippines, and we are grateful that GovMedia Conference and Awards 2024 has recognized the Tourist Rest Areas and Filipino Brand of Service Excellence as being the best infrastructure and training programs in Asia. The Department of Tourism’s partnership with TIEZA and our local government units for the TRA’s, and our collaboration with our FBSE trainers and our private tourism stakeholders, is pursuant to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s thrust towards enhancing the overall tourism experience and elevating the quality of Philippine tourism services. We thank our President for his transformative vision for our nation, and we thank all our partners for helping us strengthen the foundation of Philippine tourism,” she said as she personally received the awards in a ceremony late last week.

The TRA, a brainchild of Frasco, provides clean restrooms with showers for tourists in transit to different tourist destinations plus a coffee shop and tourist lounge, a tourist information area, a charging station, and a souvenir store carrying a variety of Philippine-made products.

The FBSE training program includes welcoming the tourists with the “Mabuhay and Salamat” gestures throughout the arrival and until they leave.

The Tourism Promotions Board Philippines was also awarded based on the list posted on the award’s website for the Philippines Public Sector Initiative of the Year–Tourism.

Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology’s Region 9 and DOST-ITDI also got awarded for Philippines Governance Project of the Year-Science and Technology while DOST’s Science and Technology Information Institute got the country’s Campaign of the Year for Science and Technology award.

The Securities and Exchange Commission Philippines also got the Philippines Campaign of the Year, Philippines E-Governance Project of the Year, and Philippines Sustainability Initiative of the Year, all for the Regulatory category.

The National Economic and Development Authority also got the Philippines’ E-Governance Project of the Year for Info-Comms, Pag-IBIG Fund for the Philippines Public Sector Initiative of the Year–Housing and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development with the Philippines Campaign of the Year-Smart Government.

Parañaque’s Center for Children with Special Needs was recognized as the Philippines Social Equity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year in Health.

Foodpanda logistics Philippines/Delivery Hero Logistics Philippines, Inc. got the Philippines Stakeholder Engagement of the Year–Transportation, GCash as the Philippines Digital Initiative of the Year–Finance, Nestlé Philippines, Inc. with the Philippines Stakeholder Engagement of the Year–Agriculture, and Reckitt for the country’s Campaign of the Year in health.

The GovMedia Conference & Awards spotlights outstanding government projects and initiatives in Asia that contribute to the well-being of the people in the region.