Kinuwestiyon ni Vice Chairperson Rep. Rufus R. Rodriguez ang branding expenses at tourism road programs ng Department of Tourism (DOT). 

Ang pagtatanong na ito ng vice chairperson sa kalihim ng DOT na si Christina Garcia-Frasco ay ginanap sa budget briefing ng ahensya para sa Fiscal Year 2026 sa House of Representatives (HOR) nitong Martes, Setyembre 2.

Tanong niya, sumusuko na raw ba ang ahensya sa larangan ng turismo, dahil nakikita umano ang kakulangan sa imprastraktura at tourism road programs.

“Chair, in all honesty, that question can be best answered by the DPWH, which has jurisdiction over the funding for tourism roads. That being said, it has been an advocacy on the part of the Department of Tourism (DOT) since 2022 to invest in tourism roads, which is why every year, we receive proposals and we promptly endorse DPWH for funding for continuing tourism roads and new tourism roads,” aniya.

“As a matter of fact, in 2024, through our advocacy, we managed to ensure that ₱5 billion in funding for new tourism roads was lodged in the GAA of the DPWH. Unfortunately, while we had proposed yet again in 2025, the budget was zeroed. And while there was funding for continuing roads, surely, it is not enough to open up new destinations,” dagdag pa niya.

Ibinahagi rin ng kalihim na para sa 2026, nag-propose ang DOT ng budget para sa funding ng tourism roads sa halagang ₱6.2 bilyon ngunit wala umanong ibinigay na pondo para dito. Para naman sa continuing roads, bumaba pa ito sa halagang ₱3 bilyon.

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Aniya, na-”stagnate” umano nito ang ang paglago ng mga destinasyon sa bansa, na may tsansang madiskubre at ma-promote. 

Bilang pagtugon, inilahad naman ni Vice Chairperson Rodriguez na paglalaanan ang restorasyon ng tourism roads at destinasyon ng P6 bilyon upang maisagawa ang mga planong pagsasaayos nito.

Ibinahagi rin ni Sec. Garcia-Frasco ang patungkol sa branding expenses ng DOT.

“Suffering a nearly 95% reduction in our branding has significantly limited our ability to compete, as well as we can with our direct competitors in the ASEAN, whose branding and promotion budget by comparison is in the billions of dollars,” ani Garcia-Frasco.

“So, to be perfectly frank, while the expectations for international arrivals soar, the branding budget for the same has been significantly reduced. And so, there is a gross disparity between the expected international arrivals and the investments for the same. What remains true, however, is that the economic value for investing in tourism is as high as it can be,” dagdag pa niya.

Aniya pa, nag-”plead” sila at nag-”beg” umano sila sa HOR na i-”arrest” umano ang “grave injustice” na ito ukol sa malawakang reduksyon sa budget ng tourism branding ng ahensya.

Vincent Gutierrez/BALITA