Laguna gov seeks reopening of resorts, private pools

STAYING AFLOAT In this photo taken in 2018, a roadside stall in Calamba City offers colorful floaters and other inflatables to families on their way to resorts and private pools in Barangay Pansol. People tending these stores and other workers in Laguna’s hot spring district are finding ways to stay afloat after they lost their jobs when the pandemic halted tourism activities. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Laguna Gov. Ramil Hernandez supported the appeal of resort owners and tourism operators in his province to reopen their businesses so they could help thousands of workers left unemployed by community lockdowns and restrictions on leisure travel during the pandemic.

Hernandez, in a social media post on Wednesday, said he asked the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to consider the reopening of resorts and other tourism-related establishments in the province.

Early this month, a group of operators of hot spring resorts and private swimming pools in Calamba City sought the help of Mayor Timmy Chipeco to allow them to resume operations.

Calamba, which lies at the foot of Mt. Makiling about 60 kilometers from Metro Manila, is known for its hot springs, the main driver of the local tourism industry. Economic emergency

“This pandemic has brought to us different circumstances that lead to the fall of businesses in different parts of the country, most especially the private pool operations … in Pansol, Calamba City, since we stopped operating during the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and MECQ (modified ECQ) periods,” said Annmarie Laura Alcantara, president of Association of Private Pool Owners and Operators, in a letter to Chipeco on May 4.

Laguna is part of the so-called National Capital Region (NCR) Plus areas, which include Metro Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, and Rizal. These areas were earlier placed under MECQ to control the surge in COVID-19 cases. The classification of NCR Plus has been downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ) but with “heightened restrictions,” such as prohibition on mass gatherings, remained in place.

According to Alcantara, their group is committed to strictly observe and implement health and safety protocols once businesses are allowed to reopen.

Chipeco, in an endorsement sent to Michael Palispis, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), said the pandemic “has plunged us into an economic emergency, which [is] deeply felt by all sectors of our community in our city.”

He said resort caretakers, vendors, and transport service operators were most affected by the continued closure of these establishments.

Palispis, in a May 10 letter to Chipeco, said the DOT could not grant the request since resorts were still prohibited from opening under IATF rules. But the city government, he said, may apply for an exemption now that Laguna is under GCQ.

—DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.