Capitol to penalize violators of tourism protocols

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu provincial government is now seeking to penalize violations of the guidelines in the operation of tourism activities in the province, citing the need to assure full compliance of the protocols under the new normal.

The Provincial Board on Monday passed on first reading the proposed measure adopting into an ordinance Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order No. 20-A which set the guidelines for the operation of tourism establishments in the province.

Board Member Andre Duterte, who chairs the Committee on Tourism, said the strict enforcement of the policies is necessary to ensure the safety of the tourism workers and the visitors alike.

Duterte said that while the Provincial Tourism Task Force has not spotted violations on the establishments that they have already allowed to operate, there were establishments that they needed to call out for opening without securing first a permit from the Capitol.

“We discussed it with Gov unya gi-push gyud nako to adopt the EO into an ordinance to ensure lang gyud nga mo-follow gyud ang atong mga tourism stakeholders sa province sa EO. It’s not for us sa Capitol, its for the safety of the guests and in compliance with the guidelines set by the IATF and the DOT (Inter-Agency Task Force and the Department of Tourism,” Duterte told CDN Digital.

Under the proposed ordinance, a penalty of P5,000 or jail time of up to one year, or both may be imposed on those who would be proven to have violated the guidelines on tourism operations.

The proposed measure designates the members of the local tourist police unit, the Philippine Coast Guard, and Bantay Dagat as in-charge in ensuring the safety and security in the implementation of tourism activities as well as the enforcement of the minimum health standards during the said activities.

The Cebu Provincial Tourism Task Force, meanwhile, is designated to monitor the compliance of the tourism establishments on the guidelines set by EO No. 20-A which covers the booking system, the measures in disinfection, and limitation on the number of guests that the activities can cater to per day, among others.

“Warning lang, we have spot-checking with the different agencies. Anyone from us [in the task force] can do the spot-checking. It will be unannounced to make sure that they are maintaining it,” Provincial Tourism Officer Maria Lester Ybañez said in a separate interview.

“We need to know [through the conduct of spot checking] because the application is simple but it is really the maintenance that is crucial,” Ybañez added.

In the province’s tourism booking portal, there are already activities that can be availed of. The relaunch of the tourism industry in Cebu kicked off last July 31 with the whale shark watching in Oslob, followed by the activities in Moalboal which is a beach destination and the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) adventure in Barili, and some destinations on Camotes Island.

Ybañez added that they are also set to relaunch the island hopping offering of Cordova town on Mactan Island on August 30. / dcb