DTI to extend financial aid to boatmen in Oslob, Moalboal

Local boatmen in Oslob prepare for the relaunching of their whale-shark watching activities on Friday, July 31 | CDND File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas (DTI-7) will be extending about P300,000 in financial assistance to boatmen in the southern Cebu towns of Oslob and Moalboal as the tourism operations there resume.

During the relaunching of the tourism activities in the province, led by the whale shark watching in Oslob, DTI-7 Regional Director Asec. Asteria Caberte announced that it will release financial assistance to the boatmen in the two towns who largely dependent on tourism for their income.

The tourism services sector is among those severely hit by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past four to five months due to quarantine restrictions.

READ: IN PHOTOS: Moalboal’s tourism industry reopens

From July 31 to August 2, 2020, the Cebu provincial government held the official reopening of the tourism industry in the province beginning with Oslob, Moalboal, and Barili.

According to the Provincial Information Office, Caberte turned over P10,000 worth of certificates to 18 boatmen and operators in Moalboal during the town’s leg of the relaunch of the tourism operations in the province on August 1.

They were the first batch to benefit from the agency’s Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa under Covid-19 (PPGC), a program under DTI’s Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (NSB) program which is now directed to assist micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) that are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Caberte said.

READ: IN PHOTOS: Oslob’s whale shark watching under the ‘new normal’

Caberte said the agency’s financial assistance is meant to “bridge” the Capitol’s move to bring back the livelihood of the tourism services sector that had plummeted since early in March.

Prior to the tourism relaunch in Cebu province, DTI-7 had a meeting with the boatmen of Oslob and Moalboal to identify their needs and how the agency can come in.

Caberte said the DTI will also support the feeding of the whale sharks in Barangay Tanawan in Oslob in order to sustain the presence of the whale sharks which is among the famous attraction in the town.

Under the reopening of Cebu’s tourism industry, Oslob is allowed to accommodate up to 1,000 guests for the whale shark watching activity every day.

“So when we talked about during the dialogue gi-discuss namo unsa man gyud ang (When we had our dialog [in Oslob], we were able to identify their) common need. Kana diay sila dunay (They have a) fixed cost which is the feeding of whale sharks. So to sustain the presence of the whale shark we will help them and support it,” the PIO quoted Caberte as saying in a news release.

“Amo pud i-assist ang provider sa feeds and will look sa supply chain kay basin ma-lower sad ang cost. We will also be helping the supplier (in giving them the market),” Caberte said.

In Moalboal, DTI also promised to assist the boatmen for the upgrading and disinfection of their boats.

The PIO said that the DTI will be providing them with UV sterilization lamps and materials that are needed to repair their boats.

“DTI will also help Moalboal boatmen in rebranding their pump boats by having a uniform of colors that will easily be identifiable and will give higher memory retention for guests,” the PIO said. / dcb