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The Philippines Needs Internal Cleansing and Rehabilitation More than International Exposure Today
Posted on Saturday, 9 July 2016
The Philippines
Needs Internal Cleansing and Rehabilitation
More than
International Exposure Today
Ni Apolinario Villalobos
The Philippines is overexposed. No question
about that. The internet is flooded with information about the Philippines.
Browse for international singers and Filipino names will be flashed. Browse for
exotic islands and white sand beaches of the Philippines will be flashed. Browse
for Filipino international beauty title holders and the screen will flash a
list. Browse for exotic birds and the Philippines will be shown on screen. Also, as regards politics, even before the
2016 election, the face of the new president Duterte has “graced” the cyber
screen because of his intriguing personality. What else do we need to promote
tourism for? There are hundreds of Filipino and international bloggers who
write about the Philippines – for free. These are the people who are helping
the country in their own unselfish way and driven by their unsolicited and
first-hand fascination. Why pay agencies with copywriters whose ideas are
copied from what they have browsed in the internet?
In this regard, the plan to host the next
Ms. Universe pageant is untimely as the country is undergoing some sort of “internal
cleansing and rehabilitation”. Whatever expense that may go to the beauty
pageant hosting should go to projects with the aforementioned objectives. Due
to the very obvious situation, the country is unprepared to host any
international event. The direction should be toward what the new president is
taking. Why not wait until “cleaning” is done before flaunting a “better”
country to the world so that the desired image can be impressed on the mind of
inbound-travelers?
The Department of Tourism (DOT) should
instead, spearhead a concerted effort among travel and tour-related agencies in
putting life to the dying and crumbling cultural landmarks. The effort would be
like cultivating a garden to be planted with various vegetables which can be
sold later. Along this line, it is important to check if the gateways leading
to the interiors are just right. Corruption at the airport underlined by the
“tanim-bala” scandal should be checked if already eradicated; if facilities of
the four airport terminals in Manila are properly functioning; if airports in
the provinces are at least presentably clean; if taxi drivers in Manila are no
longer hustling passengers; if the traffic around Manila and other prime cities
such as Cebu and Davao is minimized; etc.
It should be noted that despite the lack of
impressive modernistic structures, neighboring Southeast Asian Nations are continually
overwhelmed with tourists. Unfortunately, the Philippines is way behind them. The
trade secret of these neighboring nations is in the maintenance of their
historic and cultural landmarks… which are what their tourism is all about.
While the Philippines is no different from them, as she belongs to their
category – third world, the difference is in the country’s negligence of its
landmarks, even allowing a photo bummer to rise in what was the former site of
the Jai-alai fronton at Taft Avenue, so that every time a visitor takes a photo
of the Rizal monument at Luneta, the condo hotel of a well-known developer also
gets prominent space behind the statue’s image like a sore thumb.
A lesson or two could be learned from the
wise administration of our neighboring countries on how ecology and tourism
could co-exist, especially, because the Philippines is pinned down with an
“exotic” tag, and not as a flourishing ultra-modern destination with the likes of
China, Australia, America, and many others that the we are desperately and
shamelessly trying to mimic.
I think the new secretary of Tourism should
also check on why the previous administration chose the Makati area as the site
of the agency’s headquarters, instead of one where the industry is bustling,
thereby, where it is appropriately needed most. The Tourist Belt refers to
Malate and Ermita areas where the agency should be, and where there are also
buildings that could accommodate all its offices. On the other hand, the new
location of the DOT at Buendia Avenue in Makati is far from the airport, port
areas, tourism-related venues such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines,
Folk Arts Center, Philippine International Convention Center, Luneta, Ocean
Park and Intramuros. Worst, the new location of the DOT is prone to flooding,
aside from being hampered with limited parking space, and going there, a
traveler has to muster the practically, crawling traffic along EDSA and main
Buendia Avenue from Roxas Boulevard.
Another concern that comes to my mind is
the Philippine Village Hotel right beside the airport terminal 2 with the
sprawling vacated area that used to be the Nayong Pilipino. Why not consider
the rehabilitation of the hotel so that it can be used as the permanent DOT
headquarters? For big events, moveable facilities can be put up in the
sprawling area, instead of just being left at the mercy of tall grasses.
