DOT logo
MANILA, Philippines – The free accreditation for tourism establishments has been extended, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Thursday.
In a statement, the DOT said the effectivity of Memorandum Circular (MC) 2022-001, which waives accreditation fees for tourism businesses, has been extended.
The DOT MC 2022-001, also known as the Revised Interim Guidelines Governing Applications for Accreditation During the State of Calamity Due to COVID-19, is based on Presidential Proclamation No. 57 series of 2022 which significantly extended the duration of the country’s catastrophe until December 31, 2022.
“While the proclamation on the period of state calamity in the country has ended, we at the DOT discern the need to continue, for as long as essential, measures that will support our stakeholders in their process of recouping the devastating losses incurred in the almost three years that the tourism industry was brought to a standstill due to the pandemic,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco stated.
Under DOT MC 2022-001, streamlining the documentation needed for accreditation as well as doing virtual inspections rather than physical ones were among the points aligned by the DOT with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases of the national government.
However, Frasco pointed out that several of the clauses in the Memorandum Circular that the agency issued on March 24 last year had already received the necessary modifications.
By next month, the DOT hopes to resume accepting new Star Rating and Premium Accreditation applications, which were halted under Section 6 of the Memorandum Circular.
The DOT advised businesses with expiring basic registrations to apply for regular accreditation instead since the former will remain discontinued.
Applying for certification online is possible through the DOT’s Online Accreditation System at https://accreditation.tourism.gov.ph/login. – Kimberly D. Albaño, INQUIRER.net intern