GMA signs Tourism Act

MACTAN, Cebu, Philippines – President Arroyo has signed into law the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009, which aims to solidify the status of the tourism industry as an engine of growth and development.

The President chose to sign Republic Act 9593 at the new Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa here to emphasize the emergence of Cebu as the country’s premier tourist destination.

Under the new law, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its attached agencies will be strengthened in order to effectively and efficiently implement the national policy of tourism.

The Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC) will be reorganized as the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), a corporate body responsible for the marketing and promotion of the Philippines as a global tourism destination, highlighting its tourism products and services.

The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) would now be known as the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), a corporate body mandated to designate, regulate and supervise tourism enterprise zones (TEZs) as well as develop and supervise tourism projects in the country.

Duty Free Philippines will also be reorganized and renamed the Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC), a corporate body mandated to operate the duty- and tax-free merchandising system in the country.

R.A. 9593 provides that the TPB and TIEZA will each have capitalization of P250 million subscribed by the national government.

Funding for TPB will be sourced from investment earnings from the Tourism Promotions Trust; appropriation from the national government of not less than P500 million annually for at least five years from the time of its constitution; 70 percent of the 50 percent net income of the DFPC accruing to the Department; at least 25 percent of the national government share remitted by international airports and seaports to the National Treasury.

On the other hand, the funding for TIEZA would come from 50 percent of travel tax collections; a reasonable share from the collections of the Office of Tourism Resource Generation; income from projects managed by the TIEZA; and subsidies or grants from local and foreign sources.

The capitalization for DFPC was set at P500 million and funding for its operations will be sourced from internally generated income and other receipts.

New incentives for investors

Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano noted that some new incentives for investors in the tourism sector would be provided on top of the existing ones given by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Durano admitted that there would be some revenue implications with the new incentives as he noted that investors were already happy with the existing incentives.

“So we just have to iron out with the Department of Finance how we can soften the additional incentives under this new law and we can do that through the implementing rules and regulations (IRR),” Durano said.

He said that the IRR would iron out some of the provisions of the law, particularly the transfer of supervision of some agencies such as the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA).

Durano pointed out that the PRA would be transferred to the DOT from the DTI under the new law.

“The DOT will also now be a member of the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines so all these moves would have to be coordinated among the concerned agencies,” he said.

Senator Richard Gordon, the principal author of the bill in the Senate, said that the law would “equip the Tourism Secretary and tourism stakeholders with all the power, funds and tools, that if used properly will lead to an exponential growth in foreign tourist arrivals.”

Gordon, in a statement, said that the law would also help the government cope with the harsh impacts of the global financial crisis.

“If we reach four to six million foreign tourist arrivals a year, within two or three years, we will be able to provide enough jobs for new graduates as well as our OFWs who are coming home prematurely because of the global recession,” Gordon said.

Joining the President at the signing of the law were Gordon, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Reps. Raul del Mar, Deputy House Speaker Amelita Villarosa, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, among others.

Before signing the bill into law, the President granted an interview to the local media here and delivered a speech during the One Visayas summit forum on climate change.

The Cabinet meeting was also held at the Imperial Palace Resort. –Marvin Sy, Philippine Star