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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