2 solons want budget hike for tourism department

MANILA, Philippines — Some House members are pushing for an increase in the budget of the Department of Tourism (DOT) for 2020, citing the tourism industry’s potential to boost the country’s development.

Baguio City Rep. Mark Go and Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the DOT’s P3.85 billion proposed budget for 2020 under the National Expenditure Program submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was insufficient to support the agency’s programs and targets.

DOT Assistant Secretary for Administration and Finance Leila Rivera said they originally proposed to DBM a P4.3 billion budget next year. Although the P3.85-billion DBM-approved budget is about 12 percent higher than 2019’s P3.7 billion budget, Rivera said their low budget would pose certain difficulties.

“It will post certain difficulties but, since we already committed to achieving our physical targets then we will try to utilize to the fullest the budget given to us. But additional funds will be very much welcomed,” Rivera added during their budget briefing before the House appropriations panel.

Go agreed and even compared DOT’s budget to the P3 billion fund allocated to the Boracay rehabilitation program.

Rodriguez meanwhile said: “The DOT proper should submit this P800 million that were [sic] slashed from your proposed budget, and also the tourism promotion board of P900 million…”

“Because we have just recalled the budget then we can insert this. It’s called insertion but not, it’s an original, it will become original bill…” he added in jest.

Rivera said administrative allocations, including the budget for air conditioning units, and projects of regional offices got the highest decrease in their budget. 

2018 performance 

DOT Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that in 2018, the tourism industry contributed 12.7 percent to the country’s gross domestic product which translated to P2.2 trillion in gross value added.

Inbound tourism revenue in 2018 also reached P441.4 billion, making tourism the “third-biggest export item for the Philippine economy,” according to Romulo-Puyat. Domestic tourism revenue also posted a 21 percent growth in 2018 by producing P3.2 trillion despite the closure of Boracay Island.

Some 7.17 million inbound visitors and 111.35 million domestic travelers were also recorded in 2018, which both increased by 8.27 percent and 15.13 percent, respectively. 

Romulo-Puyat said the “substantial revenue generated by the tourism industry is accredited to the growth of foreign arrivals.” Most of the tourists in 2018, she said, came from South Korea, China, and the United States.

“We continue to have a positive outlook that the plans and programs of the DOT for 2020 will help to congregate a competitive edge in the global tourism market and achieve DOT’s 12 million target arrivals by 2022,” the Tourism Chief added.

Employment

Romulo-Puyat said the tourism industry generated 5.4 million employment in 2018, a 13 percent share to national employment. 

The DOT targets to create 6 million jobs by 2020, she added. /je