‘P10 billion not realignment of tourism aid’

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker for finance and Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte reassured stakeholders of the tourism industry of the support of Congress but clarified that the P10-billion allocation is only an initial stimulus outlay and not a realignment of their budget as industry leaders claimed.

Villafuerte yesterday directly addressed serious concerns raised by Jose Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), about the supposed diversion of the bailout fund to building infrastructure projects.

TCP had urged the bicameral conference committee of senators and congressmen to re-examine the tourism sector’s P10-billion allocation under House Bill 6953 (Bayanihan 2) as direct financial assistance for distressed tourism-related firms.

On Monday, the House passed the amended version of the Bayanihan 2 bill or House Bill 6953 on third and final reading. Under the bill, the tourism sector’s P10-billion fund is allocated to finance the programs of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) assisting the recovery of the tourism industry that shall include the provision of infrastructure.

“The House leadership under Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has assured tourism industry leaders led by Mr. Clemente of its unequivocal support for the speedy recovery of this once booming sector, which is among the sectors worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

Villafuerte clarified that the funds allotted to TIEZA are an initial stimulus outlay for the recovery of the tourism sector that was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that there would be further allocations for the Department of Tourism.

He said stakeholders would expect more fund allocations in the P4.5-trillion proposed General Appropriations Act of 2021 and that funds contained in HB 6953 are just for purposes of reviving the country’s battered economy amidst the coronavirus disease.

On top of this, there are also “similar allotments in the two House-approved stimulus bills – House Bill 6709 or the P1.5-trillion COVID-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) Act and HB 6815 or the P1.3-trillion Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) bill.”

“Hence, there is no budget realignment whatsoever because no allocation for the tourism sector has actually been approved yet, let alone realigned for another purpose, as the two chambers of the Congress still have to come up with the final or consolidated version of Bayanihan 2 for submission to President Duterte,” Villafuerte pointed out.

CURES proposes a continuing P500-billion budget yearly for the next three years for infrastructure in the health, education, agriculture, livelihood, information technology and tourism (HEAL IT) sectors.

The P10-billion TIEZA funding, according to him, is “for infrastructure projects aimed at beefing up the country’s tourism infrastructure for the long haul and creating thousands of jobs for displaced industry workers in the immediate term.”

In behalf of the tourism industry, Clemente who is an executive of Rajah Tours Philippines, had asked the Senate and the House to keep the DOT’s original P10-billion “bailout” plan to help tourism-related businesses that bore the brunt of the pandemic.

Tourism associations earlier wrote to both houses of Congress to make their sentiments on the issue heard. The groups includes the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, Philippine Travel Agencies Association, Philippine Tour Operators Association, Hotel Sales and Marketing Association Philippines, National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, Region One Travel Agencies Association and the Davao association of tour operators.

In an online forum yesterday, Clemente said the various tourism associations met on Tuesday with the House tourism committee, headed by its chair Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones, vice chair Bohol Rep. Edgar Chatto and Rep. Villafuerte, one of the authors of Bayanihan 2. – Catherine Talavera