Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
It’s more fun in the Philippines with honest taxi drivers around.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently honored two drivers of the Manila International Airport Transport Service for returning valuables left behind by their passengers.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said the honesty displayed by
drivers Edralin Mañalas and Joan Dacullo took the concept of “fun” to a deeper level.
With the example they had shown, the term now means “easy and seamless travel made possible by efficient service personnel who go the extra mile to make the experience more memorable,” he said. “We need more Edralins and Joans to complete the fun picture of Philippine tourism.”
Mañalas and Dacullo were awarded certificates of appreciation and letters of commendation in simple rites held at the DOT main office in Manila last week.
In a statement on Monday, the DOT said Mañalas returned a black wallet containing three bank cards and cash in various currencies amounting to P50,000 on May 26.
Dacullo was recognized for returning two laptops and cash worth P100,000 on May 22.
Jimenez stressed the importance of having honest and competent frontliners in the tourism industry to give flesh to the DOT’s slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”
“Our current tourism campaign centers on the Filipino as the main component in ensuring a fun experience, whether it be for business or leisure,” the secretary said. “Each one of us can contribute in building this fun environment by excelling at what we do and doing our own share of good.”
The DOT regularly conducts trainings and seminars to further professionalize the services rendered by tourism frontliners, including taxi drivers, as well as promote good moral values.
The DOT noted that Mañalas and Dacullo had both participated in those seminars.
“Our seminars are not only prerequisite to accreditation,” according Tourism Undersecretary Ma. Victoria Jasmin. “More importantly, the whole program is geared toward raising competitiveness and establishing a Filipino brand of service that is efficiently extended with genuine warmth.”
The department’s Office of Tourism Standards and Regulation is also considering giving special tokens of recognition to exemplary frontliners, the DOT added.