The Tourism Act has politicized the industry!

As far as we are concerned, outgoing Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Alberto Lim is finished or in radio parlance, he should simply say “Over and out!” I would have wanted to move on to other pressing matters, however, I got an e-mail from Alejandra C. Clemente, president of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines (FTIP) who is a known supporter of Secretary Lim who asked that her letter be given space. I replied to her that her letter was just too long, so I will only put excerpts of her letter.

In truth, I could have written this piece on a later date, but then the outgoing Tourism Chief has kept himself so busy, explaining himself to the public, appearing on ANC with Karen Davila Thursday morning and criticizing his detractors that they don’t know what tourism is all about, which incensed a lot of people. Worse, he goes to town attacking no less than President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III for delaying a complaint against Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Authority (TIEZA) head Mark Lapid because of political considerations. What is Bertie Lim insinuating – that there is some kind of “collusion” between the President and Mark Lapid? Now that’s a heavy accusation! If you ask me, Secretary Lim better clarify his position on this.

As far as Clemente’s e-mail is concerned, let me refresh you about the case she filed against then DOT Secretary Ace Durano (coursed through the DOT). As she pointed out in her letter, “Therefore, when the Tourism Act was signed by PGMA, then Secretary Ace Durano came out with an IRR which changed an important provision of the Act from accredited tourism enterprise to ‘aggrupation’ which is not what the Act expressly provides.”

Clemente added: “When he convened the Tourism Congress on November 15, 2009 based on the IRR, which was then being questioned, Rajah Travel Corporation, an accredited tourism enterprise, was not allowed to participate in the Congress and was deprived of its right to be represented. By using the word ‘aggrupation’ in the IRR, selection by invitation to the participants of the Congress became arbitrary. Hence a petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed by Rajah Travel Corporation against then Secretary Ace Durano.”

That’s basically why Rajah Tours or FTIP supported Secretary Albert Lim when he took over as Tourism Secretary. But no, she didn’t drop the case against the DOT even if she was now with the group sup-porting Secretary Lim because she wanted him to change the IRR, which I heard he already did. Now what happens if another group doesn’t like the new IRR? Again, they would clamor for the resignation of the Tourism Secretary because they, too, would be left out? When will this vicious cycle ever end?

Herein lies the crux of the problem with the Tourism Act of 2009, which in my book has only “politicized” the tourism industry, which is why I was against it to start with simply because you just can’t include everyone in the Tourism Congress. Like it or not, the big groups would be included and the small ones disenfranchised or it could go the other way like what happened to the FTIP, according to Clemente.

Take note that before the Tourism Act became a law, there was really no disunity in the tourism industry (even if the big tourism players in Manila had the distinct advantage of being closer to the Tourism Secretary because of proximity) because there were no elections for representatives in the tourism sector. If at all, any “hidden interests” in the tourism sector were conveyed through the powers-that-be in Malacañang by influence peddlers and the like… even as to who should be Tourism Secretary.

Right now, these influence peddlers are moving heaven and earth whispering to people close to the President to push for their own “manok” to be the next Tourism Secretary. Even in Cebu, certain groups want former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano back in the saddle. I’m not supporting these people, not because I don’t like Ace Durano, but rather because this decision should be given to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III alone!

I just hope that President P-Noy chooses the right person for the job, one who can unite the disunited factions that the Tourism Act of 2009 has unfortunately spawned. I suggest to President P-Noy to repeal the Tourism Act of 2009 and instead, allow only the private sector to create their own tourism associations similar to the Hong Kong Tourist Association, a private sector-led body that is subsidized by as much as 90 percent by the Hong Kong government which co-ordinates with the group for their promotion and development activities.

If only the Philippine government was no longer centralized and we already shifted to a federal form of government, we could have a Federal Tourism Board catering to the needs of the state as far as tourism promotion and development is concerned. But that means President P-Noy must embrace Charter change. Now that’s what reforms are all about!

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