DOUBLE DIGIT TOURISM

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano should be praised for setting a target of about 2.8 million tourist arrivals this year. Praise is in order for his having a clearly set target, but on the other hand, I wonder when our country is going to catch up with our Asian neighbors, many of which are already hitting over ten million arrivals. Besides, when is Durano going to exclude the number of returning residents who are not supposed to be counted as tourists? As a matter of fact, former Filipino nationals who are also visiting should not be counted also, because their decision to come here is not a direct result of Durano’s marketing efforts.

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It’s a known fact that by increasing our tourism arrivals, we will be hitting two birds with one stone, because we will not just be increasing our dollar earnings, we will also be generating more local employment. The multiplier effect of the tourism industry is actually immeasurable, because tourist expenditures have a multiplier effect that runs very deeply.

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What is the use of having Ombudsman and OWWA counters at our international airport terminals if these agencies are not able to man these counters regularly? Certainly this is no longer the fault of NAIA management, because they are just the landlords at these terminals. More often than not, the NAIA managers are blamed for some irregularities at these terminals, even if they are just the landlords. This is true in the case of alleged corrupt practices committed by some customs and immigration officials wherein the airport bosses are usually blamed, even if they have no control over their tenants. Yes, the BI and the BOC are just tenants there as a matter of fact.

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It is actually still a good idea to detail a resident Ombudsman at these terminals, because the original intention was to give passengers the convenience of reporting erring BI and BOC officials on the right there on the spot, without going to the main Ombudsman office in Quezon City. Much to my disappointment however, their counter was unmanned all the while that I was there, and I am sure that the passengers must have observed the same thing. Could it be that it is intentional not to man these counters because these Ombudsman reps are already in cahoots with the BI and BOC people there? Could it be that there is already a conspiracy there that has not yet been exposed?

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There may be no corruption involved in the absence of the OWWA reps in their posts, but still it is disconcerting to note that they are not there when they are supposed to be there. What if someone needed their assistance and nobody is at these counters? What is an arriving or departing OFW going to do? Fortunately, some good news has come out of the OWWA, because I heard that the agency is now strengthening their OFW re-entry program component. In the past, the OWWA was criticized for their inability to provide assistance to OFWs who have already returned to the country, because it seems that their mentality then was to help only the OFWs who are still abroad, as if their duty to serve these new “economic heroes” ends as soon as they are home. This time however, the OWWA is already providing livelihood assistance to the OFWs who have come back, even those who have been back for several years already.

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Some good news has also come out of the BI, as it was reported that they are about to deport several overstaying Chinese nationals who were found to be in violation not just of immigration laws, but also of the retail trade laws. Prior to this deportation move, it was widely perceived that there was a protection racket that enabled these illegal aliens not only to overstay, but also to get away with rampant smuggling, which is rumored to be the reason why the goods they are selling at certain malls in Divisoria are way below the usual market prices, so much so that the law abiding retailers around them are already losing money. I am not really sure whether this protection racket has really been stopped or whether the BI is just putting up a show, but for now, they deserved to be praised for what they have recently done.

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From what I hear, there are still a number of “untouchable” smugglers who are operating under the protection of certain personalities who are close to the Palace, and this may be the reason why the BOC no matter how hard they are going to try. I know that Commissioner Arevalo really tried to increase the collections when he was the OIC, but his hands were probably tied when it comes to these “untouchables”. Not unless this special protection is removed, I do not see how Commissioner Morales could do any better, and I hope that he will not be tempted to put up a show to make it appear that he has delivered, even if his hands may still be tied just like Arevalo’s. Fortunately for the BOC, they are still going to make use of Arevalo’s expertise to computerize their operations, and that is probably where he could be more productive.