I'm a skeptic, but yes let's debate and not kill!

I fully agree with the stand of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III when he told reporters his mind on the supposed up and coming peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) saying, “Let’s’ just debate, let’s talk and stop killing each other.” We have been a keen observer of all the peace talks that the Philippine government held with the Communists, which all ended in total failure and worse, it resulted in the strengthening of the forces of the New People’s Army (NPA). In short, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NDF-NPA) has been using the peace talks merely to gain a strategic advantage against our established government.

Incidentally, I wrote an article a month ago that one of the biggest problems plaguing our country and has stymied our economic growth and development is ugly politics and uglier politicians. I submit that I forgot to mention that the CPP-NDF-NPA is one of those political problems that only helped ruin our country. All the Communists want is to change our form of governance into a communist one… and those who dare defy these goals end up executed and killed. And yes, they killed many of our soldiers!

With the 19-day Christmas truce between the government and the communists, no less than Fr. Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the NDF, returned to Manila. So the big question is, are the Communists serious in bringing peace into our country? Because if they are not, there really is no point in talking peace when there is no sincerity from the Communist leaders. One such sincerity comes from the Communists laying down their arms in the pursuit of peace… something that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) did prior to their peace talks. But as of press time, I see no such offer from the Communists, which is why I’m skeptical that we can achieve peace in our lifetime. But I agree with P-Noy, let’s stop shooting and start debating!

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Beleaguered Department of Tourism (DoT) Secretary Albert “Bertie” Lim recently got good press from our STAR columnists, which I read intently. However the articles about the plans of Sec. Lim shows that he apparently has prepared something to improve tourism in Manila. Unfortunately, Sec. Lim has forgotten that he is the Secretary of Tourism for the entire Philippines, not just Manila and yes, he never revealed any similar plans for the Visayas and Mindanao.

What about the rest of those in the Tourism industry who needs the support of the DoT outside Metro Manila? Mind you, under his watch, then Tourism Sec. Ace Durano helped spawned the tourism industry of Bohol and later that of Camarines Sur (CamSur) not because he neglected Manila, but rather because as a tourism destination, Manila has already matured and more importantly, the majority of international flights to the Philippines land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Perhaps Sec. Lim is one of those Filipinos who wrongly believe that the Philippines is Manila and Manila is the Philippines? I’m sure that his attitude would once again trigger an anti-Imperial Manila sentiment heard all over the country. I gathered that Sec. Lim is going to appear before the Commission on Appointments (CA) this week, I hope he would have the humility to admit the mistakes he made and more importantly, he should give equal importance to the other tourism destinations that have enticed many tourists to come and visit the Philippines under the Wow! Philippines slogan.

Still on Tourism. Another issue close to my heart is the so-called “Open Skies” Policy that I fully embraced since I began writing columns. However, after years of learning about this, we shifted into “Pocket Open Skies” policy, which we wanted for Cebu. Unfortunately, there are many entitlements for airlines to fly to Cebu that they have not been using. So in the end, there really is no point in opening our skies if these airlines really have no intention to fly to Cebu. Gulf Air is one such example, where they flew directly to Cebu and whenever they arrive in Mactan, I only see returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and no Arabs on board.

My good friend, Mr. Robert “Bobby” Joseph, chairman of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines was recently quoted as saying that “Pocket Open Skies will not impact on tourist arrivals.” He cited that the issuance of Executive Order No. 500 that declared a pocket open skies for the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) did not result in bringing tourists into Pampanga (except during the annual Balloon Festival in February).

In short, the DoT and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) must study and restudy how best can we bring tourists into our shores. I dare say that it is not by changing our tourism slogans, but rather by coming up with enticing and juicy TV ads that would motivate tourists to come and visit our country. Of course it helps if we solve issues like the Aug. 23 hostage killings!

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