Marked Growth in Domestic Tourism

MANILA, Philippines — There has been a marked improvement in domestic tourism, mainly due to the efforts of municipalities in promoting their tourist destinations.

League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) National President and Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla cited statistics from the Department of Tourism (DoT) showing a 12.28 percent increase in domestic tourism, to 16.56 million in 2010.

“Local leaders in the municipalities are one with the vision of the LMP in increased tourism,” he said, as he lauded municipalities for intensively promoting the best spots for tourists, both local and foreign.

Revilla said “increased tourism means increased spending. Thus increased income in the municipality and of course increasing the economy of the municipality. It goes hand in hand.”

Aside from the efforts made by the municipalities, Strike also lauded airline companies who through their promo fares are making it possible for every Filipino to fly and visit tourism spots in the country.

Revilla said that while the country's national flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) recorded a 12.16 percent drop in domestic flight passengers, from 6.05 million in 2009 to 5.31 million last year, the passenger volume of its budget carrier, Air Philippines, grew more than fourfold, to 1.85 million from 408,863.

Zest Airways posted a 40.98 percent growth in domestic flight passengers from 872,223 to 1.23 million.

Cebu Pacific Air had a 10.21 percent increase, from 7.23 million to 7.97 million passengers.

Domestic flight passengers of South East Asian Airlines inched up 4.91 percent, from 184,145 to 193,183.

“Travel and tourism in the Philippines really performed better in 2010 as the global economic recovery had a positive effect over the economies of many countries," Revilla said. "This led to higher growth in in-bound arrivals and domestic tourism as well as healthy development in outbound tourism, leading to higher value sales growth for the majority of travel and tourism categories, including transportation, travel accommodation, travel retail, car rental, health and wellness tourism and tourist attractions."

“The high level of promotional activity undertaken by the various municipalities, with the help of the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the private sector both inside and outside the Philippines, also helped to boost travel and tourism in the country," he added.

By CZARINA NICOLE O. ONG
December 4, 2011, 5:51pm
Source: www.mb.com.ph

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Education As the Great Equalizer

Benjie Pantino, Benjames Go and Jerwin Rendon are just as ordinary as the students yousee hurrying to school. Their families are just as struggling to keep their collective heads above the tide of increasing cost of basic commodities and services.

No wonder then that with their mothers left at home to tend to younger siblings and manage the house, their fathers do all they can to provide food on the table three times a day, pay for electricity and other basic needs, and still have some extra to pay for the children’s schooling.

Some people may describe the Pantino, Go and Rendon families as enjoying a quality of life better than them. Surely, Rafael Pantino has a small tractor that he uses to plow the fields for a fee, a small furniture shop to keep him busy and a tricycle that can use in case there are no fields to plow or furniture to make. Jerry Go earns P370 a day as foreman while Redencio has a tricycle paid for by his eldest son.

But for a family that has only one earning individual, life can be as hard as those who live in the squalor of Manila squatter communities.

The difference with the topnotchers’ case is that they have parents who never stop working and children who shared their dreams of a better life. “Dala na inining pagtios,” Benjie said after his life-changing accomplishment. The very same words could well be uttered by Benjames and Jerwin.

These dutiful sons saw, on a daily basis, how their fathers worked hard and how their mothers managed on their limited budgets, and they probably vowed, “Never again!”

Now that their path to success has been laid down before them, all these achievers have to do is to bring to their first jobs the same tenacity, the same skill and the same sterling qualities of character that earned them the top threes lots in the civil engineering licensure examination.

Whoever said that poverty keeps him poor does not strive enough to raise himself out of the gutter. Whoever said that having a diploma has not given him a job probably did not learn enough in school to know that money comes to those who are willing to earn it.

Whoever says that the Catanduanes State Colleges’ 1-2-3 knockout punch is a stroke of good luck has not heard of the Pantino, Go and Rendon families, who believe in education as the great equalizer.

Source: Catanduanes Tribune - 30 November 2011

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ICC Welcomes the Philippines As a New State Party

On 8 November 2011, the International Criminal Court (ICC) welcomed the Philippines as a new State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC in a ceremony held at the seat of the Court in The Hague. The Philippines is the 117th State Party to the Rome Statute and the 2nd country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ratify the international treaty. The Rome Statute took effect for the Philippines on 1 November 2011.


In a symbolic act, the President of the Court, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, presented the Ambassador of the Philippines, H.E. Ms Lourdes G. Morales, with a special edition of the Rome Statute of the ICC.

This video was produced in 2011 by the Public Information and Documentation Section of the ICC, for non-profit and educational purposes. The ICC encourages its use, reproduction and distribution for the same purposes. Sale or commercial use is strictly prohibited.

More information: www.icc-cpi.int

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Typhoon Watching Can Be Tourism Attraction - Jimenez

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoons in the Philippines can attract foreign tourists, newly appointed acting Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said Thursday.

Jimenez also believes the Philippines can pull off a successful tourism campaign despite a limited budget.

He told ANC's The Rundown Thursday that the Philippines' next tourism campaign should focus on the country's uniqueness.

"We have to be absolutely different. I'm a firm believer in making an offer people can't refuse," said Jimenez, an advertising industry veteran.

He said a slogan and campaign to promote the country will be ready before the end of the year. - ANC, The Rundown, September 8, 2011

Source: ABS-CBNNews.com - 08 Sep 2011

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Cong. Sarmiento Files Bill Declaring Catanduanes a “Mining-Free” Zone

CongressmanCesar V. Sarmiento has filed House Bill No. 4915 that seeks to declare the province of Catanduanes as a mining-free zone and prohibiting all mining operations therein.

Google Earth tour of Panian mine on Semirara island, Antique. Click here to view the tour on a wider page.

The solon clarified that under the proposed Act, mining shall refer to the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth and shall include such mining activities as exploration, feasibility,development, utilization and processing and large-scale quarry operations involving cement, raw materials, marble, granite, sand and gravel construction aggregates.

However,the proposed law exempts from coverage the quarrying of gravel and sand for projects directly undertaken by national agencies or by the provincial government for basic services, subject to the requirements of existing mining and environmental laws. Under the proposed measure, violators will be penalized with imprisonment of six to 12 years and a fine of P100,000.00 to P500,000.00.

In his explanatory note, Rep. Sarmiento said that mining, as one of the most environmentally destructive industries, has been statistically proven to be harmful not only to the environment but also to humans, with damages irreversible.

He cited the Department of Energy’s award of 15,000 hectares of forest land for coal mining exploration to Monte Oro Resources Energy Inc. in 2007 and 2008 that was roundly opposed by the church and concerned citizens. “There is a continuing threat that sooner or later, Catanduanes will eventually become a mining zone,” Sarmiento stressed.

The congressman said Catanduanes has the largest remaining natural forest cover in the Bicol region and is home to various biodiversity species, with the DENR listing it as one of the most important biodiversity areas of the province. “It is for these reasons that the State needs to preserve and safeguard, as the Constitution mandates, the beauty and richness of the province and its people from the harsh effects of mining,” Sarmiento emphasized.

The congressman’s bill echoes a similar ordinance filed by Provincial Board MemberJose Romeo Francisco before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

The proposed provincial ordinance will ban small- and large-scale mining,exploration, land clearing, prospecting, drilling, excavation, transport ofmineral ores and products and such other activities in Catanduanes for a period of 25 years. Exempted from the ban are quarry activities in pursuit of revenue power of the province under RA 7160.

Under PBM Francisco’s proposal, the local government unit will have direct charge in the administration and disposition of mineral lands and mineral resources, including the approval or cancellation of mining applications. It will likewise be allowed to deputize any member of the PNP, barangay, accredited NGOs or any qualified person to police all mining activities. Violators of the ordinance will be meted a penalty of P5,000.00 and/orimprisonment of one month but not more than six months at the discretion of the court.

Source: Catanduanes Tribune - 21 August 2011

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2 Towns Launch Eco-Park Projects

The establishment of ecology parks in the towns of San Andres and San Miguel was formally launched last week as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) held out hope that six other municipalities would be able to qualify for similar projects.

DILG assistant regional director Elouisa Pastor told the Tribune that the Agencia Española Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID), through Technical Cooperation Office program officer Gonzalo Serrano, had assured that the Spanish agency would stay longer beyond the Dec. 31, 2011 termination. This guarantees that the towns of Pandan, Bagamanoc, Panganiban, Viga, Bato, and Gigmoto has a chance to avail of the multi-million peso grants for environmental management projects under the Strengthening Local Governments in the Philippines (SLGP) program of the DILG.

In lauding the two recipient towns for their efforts, DILG Regional Director Blandino Maceda said that the two projects are proof of how local government executives manage their towns as the grants are given only to LGUs which excel in local governance, has good partnership between the executive and legislative branches, and shows managerial effectiveness and efficiency.

Maceda also disclosed that the towns of Virac and San Andres are qualified to receive P2 million each in project funds under the Seal of Good Housekeeping program of the department as reward for good performance in the delivery of basic services and compliance with laws, rules and regulations. He added that all 4th to 6th class towns in Catanduanes did not qualify for the Performance Incentive Grant System.

For his part, Engr. Patrick John Mejia, head of the DILG Institutional Partnership Unit, expressed optimism that the projects would be sustained by the recipient LGUs and generate income for them, as the grant includes business planning among its capacity-building activities. He also bared that Secretary Jesse Robredo would be present in the turnover of computers for towns implementing the Business Permit Licensing System (BPLS) and Business One-Stop Shop.

The twin projects likewise received congratulations from Congressman Cesar Sarmiento who, through district officer Rudy Rojas, hoped the other towns would put their own eco-parks. He revealed that he will be providing a bio-reactor and other equipment through the DOST for a similar eco-park in Virac.

Governor Joseph Cua, whose family leased the San Andres eco-park site for free to the LGU for 15 years, stressed that LGUs need to be proactive in coming up with measures to address the build-up of solid waste and promised his administration’s support for environmental undertakings.

San Andres received P3.5 million from AECID and provided P1.2 million as counterpart fund while San Miguel got P2 million paired with P1.05 million in local funds. With the two towns enforcing a no-segregation-no-collection ordinance, the eco-parks would process biodegradable, non-biodegradable, recyclable and residual wastes. It would feature a Materials Recovery Facility as well as composting plots and other livelihood projects such as converting styropor into usable materials and CHB making using residual waste. Most of the funding will go to the construction of the MRF and acquisition of equipment.

Source: Catanduanes Tribune - 11 July 2011

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