Lawmakers question tourism infrastructure priorities

MANILA, Philippines - Congressmen are questioning the priority projects chosen by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for their tourism infrastructure convergence program.

In separate letters to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, three Bicol congressmen said the Legazpi City access road project, which the two agencies’ joint tourism infrastructure convergence committee has endorsed for continued funding, has been “arbitrarily” omitted in the 2015 budgets of DOT and DPWH.

The three are Representatives Al Francis Bichara of Albay’s second district and Rodel Batocabe and Christopher Co of party-list group Ako Bicol.

“Aside from being endorsed by the Speaker, the Legazpi access road project serves not only as a gateway to known tourist diving spots in Sorsogon and Masbate, including the whale shark watching-town of Donsol, Sorsogon, but will also connect the city of Legazpi and other towns of Albay to the proposed Southern Luzon International Airport (in Legazpi City),” the three lawmakers said.

They said the access road is clearly a tourism infrastructure convergence project that would boost not only tourism but public infrastructure and transportation as well not only in Albay but in neighboring provinces.

The three pointed out that the access road is an ongoing project and funding for it is in fact provided in the current year’s budget.

This should give the DOT and the DPWH more reason to continue to provide funds for it for next year and succeeding years until it is completed, they stressed.

Bichara, Batocabe and Co noted that in place of the Legazpi access road, two road projects that the Bicol tourism infrastructure convergence committee did not recommend were inserted in the budget and given funds amounting to P145 million.

They identified the two projects as Peñafrancia-Gabawan-Kiwala-Bagumbayan-Ilaw Road and Pandan-Lacag-Inarado Road, both in Daraga town.

“As a former governor of Albay for three terms (Bichara) and a native of Daraga (Batocabe), we fully know that these road projects do not lead to any specific tourist areas but merely transgress farming communities,” the Bicol congressmen said.

“At best, these are roads leading to no tourist sites. Worse, these are not even included in the priority tourism infrastructure projects validated by your agency. It is unfortunate that a very laudable project would be sabotaged by unscrupulous personnel by intercalating projects which are not validated, and worse, far from being tourism roads, ” they said.

They urged Jimenez and Singson to review their joint projects for the Bicol region.