House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan (Photo from his Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan pushed for an increase in the 2023 budget of the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday.
Libanan, a 4Ps party-list representative, made the suggestion on Wednesday at the hearing for the DOT’s proposed budget.
He was prompted by the revelation of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco that the DOT was getting 0.63 percent of the national budget and yet it accounted for 12.9 percent of the gross domestic product.
The P3.2 billion DOT funding proposed by the Department of Budget and Management was a far cry from the initial proposal of P12.2 billion, which would be needed for programs that will prop up the tourism industry, according to Frasco.
“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Libanan said in Filipino. “It’s like we got a very good soldier, a very inspiring soldier, and sent him to war. But we gave him only a bolo while his enemies have bazookas.”
“What’s most important now is how can we compete with other countries because the tourists now want to travel,” he added. “So we need to increase [the budget] because our country needs to recover. This is so clear: Our country will rise economically if they have the proper funding.”
In response, Frasco said: “Your honor, Mr. Chair, thank you. I have no objections whatsoever to your position that, indeed, the funding for the Department of Tourism should be equal to the expectations as well as the potential for it to deliver economic contribution.”
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