DOT-7 acting chief vows to aid LGUs with tourism concerns

Acting Department of Tourism Central Visayas chief Judy Gabato (right) answers a question during a panel discussion at the Tourism Summit. With her during yesterday’s tourism summit were co-panelist, lawyer Maria Jane Paredes of Smart Communications and the panel moderator, Ahmed Cuizon, Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board chief.
(CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

THE tourism department in Central Visayas will try to help in facilitating infrastructure requests linked to tourism from local government units.

Judy Gabato, acting regional director of the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DOT-7), gave this assurance during yesterday’s tourism summit at the Oakridge Pavilion in Mandaue City, which was attended by at least a thousand stakeholders.

Gabato said that LGUs could send their letters of requests or complaints to the DOT-7 and the tourism office would try to address the issues raised by these LGUs.

Gabato took over last month as DOT-7 chief from Rowena Montecillo, who resigned from the post last Aug. 21 after President Rodrigo Duterte asked all presidential appointees of the former administration to step down from their posts.

Gabato gave this option after Marivic Calderon, tourism officer of Samboan town in southern Cebu, raised the issue of having the municipality’s request of an alternative road project to one of the town’s mountain tourist destination being disapproved by the tourism department.

Gabato, however, said that this was turned down because of the requirement that there should be at least 100,000 visitors a year going to the area for the road project to be approved.

However, Gabato said she encouraged Calderon and the other LGUs with the same problem to send their letters of complaint or requests to the the tourism department and the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas.

Calderon said that their problems on getting tourism infrastructure projects were also experienced by other southern towns such as Badian.

Gabato said that they would try to assist them in facilitating these kinds of projects to the DPWH.

Gabato also said that she was optimistic of more tourist arrivals in Central Visayas and Cebu this year especially with the opening of the new terminal at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

She said that tourist arrivals in Central Visayas have been going up since 2015 with 4.5 million tourist arrivals last year, surpassing its target of 4.4 million.

She said that Cebu alone contributed 3.3 million to that number and the rest were shared by Bohol, Negros and Siquijor.

A representative from Camotes Islands also raised the issue of connectivity.

The tourism officer said that their islands could be compared to Boracay but she said that they had problems with connectivity or marketing their place online.

Lawyer Maria Jane Paredes, senior public affairs manager of Smart Communications Inc., who was one of the panelists in yesterday’s forum organized by the Cebu Provincial government, said that they face challenges on requirements to build telecommunications infrastructure such as cell sites in remote areas.

She said that for the firm to build a single cell site on an are, there should be at least 25 signatures to process the permits of the different government agencies.

She, however, assured that they were working on providing services to remote areas.

“We will be providing connectivity to remote areas as where the demand is, there will be services also,” said Paredes.