P5k fine, jail term await tourism protocol violators in Cebu province

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A fine not exceeding P5,000 or one-year imprisonment, or both, await persons who would be found violating the protocols set for the tourism operations in Cebu province.

This is after the Provincial Board on Monday, September 28, 2020, approved in third reading an ordinance adopting the tourism operation protocols in the province set by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order no. 20-A.

READ: Capitol to penalize violators of tourism protocols

“The penalties will apply to those who deliberately and willfully act in violation [of] the measures, protocols, and salient provisions of the approved ordinance,” the Capitol said in a news release.

Fifth District Board Member and Provincial Board Committee on Tourism chairperson Andrei Duterte said the passage of the ordinance, which contained imposes the penalties, was needed to ensure that all tourism stakeholders would abide by the protocols set by the province.

The ordinance will be enforced by the Cebu Provincial Tourism Task Force, where Duterte is also a member. The task force has been in charge of the inspection and monitoring of the tourism players’ compliance with the tourism protocols.

“Members of the Tourist Police of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coastguard, and Bantay Dagat are designated as security and safety officers to oversee all tourism-related activities and enforce the proscribed safety and health protocols,” the Capitol said.

The province, in July, also launched its centralized booking portal in order to regulate the number of persons participating in every activity.

At present, the booking portal of the province now offers nine tour packages, which include canyoneering in Alegria and Badian, whale shark watching in Oslob, island hopping, and theed parks.

Cebu province has been under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) since the start of July. /bmjo