Badian operators, lose P500K daily, urge Capitol to finish canyoneering rules

A CANYONEERING operators group in Badian town in southwestern, Cebu, is calling for the guidelines of the tour operators’ accreditation to be done as soon as possible so that they can have their businesses accredited with the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The Badian Canyoneering Association, which is made up of at least 30 canyoneering tour operators, made the call during a press conference at the Casino Español yesterday.

They said they needed the accreditation if they are to commence their tours once the suspension is lifted on canyoneering activities in the Alegria-Badian area on August 1.

Sande also said they were willing to abide with all of the province’s regulations on the activities including the plan to get an accreditation from the Department of Tourism (DOT).

“Wala mi problema ana kay para man sad na sa among kaayohan ug sa mga guests (We don’t have problems with that [regulations]. It’s still for everyone’s safety after all),” said Raymund Sande, Badian Canyoneering Association spokesman.

Sande, who owns Sande Canyoneering Adventures, said the operators are losing at least P500,000 a day since the business would handle an average of at least 500 guests a day.

He said these guests would pay tour operators between P1200 and P1500 per head for a canyoneering tour package.

The package would include lunch, a complete gear set (helmet, life vest, trekking sandals, harness and even kneecaps for some operators), entrance fee and motorcycle fee, he said.

He also added most of their clients are Koreans, Malaysians, Americans and local tourists mostly from Luzon.

With the number of guests that he and the other tour operators could accommodate in a day, the group, he said, is against the proposal of having only 100 guests with guides in the area per day.

OPERATORS’ WOES

Sande said that the group has also bewailed the Cebu Provincial government’s abrupt implementation of the suspension of canyoneering activities from June 1 until August 1 by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III’s executive order.

He said the group was not properly informed of the suspension’s implementation.

He cited the group calling a meeting with Mary Grace Paulino, Provincial Tourism Officer, and Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., Cebu province’s head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, and the local government unit officials last February to discuss the planned regulations, which they were told would be finalized on March 23.

Sande said Paulino and Tribunalo never showed up at the meeting.

Sande also claimed that the promised livelihood programs of the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office (PSWDO) for the residents affected by the suspension of canyoneering activities did not materialize.

He said that the suspension has affected at least 30 Badian operators, the 300 tour guides employed by these operators, at least 50 habal-habal drivers (motorcycle drivers-for-hire), and at least 20 vendors serving guests in the Badian area.

He said on an average day, the tour guides earn at least P1,000 while habal-habal drivers can earn at least P800 a day.

Sande said his group is also calling on Cebu provincial officials to give them proper and timely updates on the Capitol’s canyoneering activities plan./UP Intern Amy A. Macalina