Gordon to PTA: Dispose of white elephants
By Rey E. Requejo Manila Standard Today
The government has to privatize the assets of the Philippine Tourism Authority or open it for joint venture with private investors if the PTA cannot profitably operate them, Senator Richard Gordon said yesterday.
“What is PTA doing when all its facilities are losing millions of pesos?” asked Gordon, who once served as tourism secretary.
Gordon made the proposal after PTA general manager Dean Barbers admitted during a Senate budget hearing that all PTA-owned and managed entities lost a total of P25.78 million this year.
Only one entity, a PTA-leased property, the Tagaytay Picnic Grove, recorded earnings for this year, noted Gordon, chairman of the Senate committee on tourism.
Among the PTA-managed properties losing money are the Hilaga Project in Pampanga amounting to P10 million; Boracay Water Sewerage System, P7.9 million, and the Zamboanga Complex, P3.8 million.
Gordon said that after six months, the committee on tourism will call a meeting with tourism officials to monitor the performance and reevaluate the PTA entities.
“The government cannot afford to lose more money and if the PTA cannot properly manage its properties, we might as well privatize them or enter into joint venture with the private sector to be able to operate these infrastructures,” the former tourism secretary stressed.
During the Senate budget hearing on the proposed 2006 budget of the Department of Tourism, Gordon assailed the DoT’s failure to maintain and preserve the glamour Intramuros as a tourist spot.
“Intramuros has started to lose its face,” Gordon lamented.
Gordon said that one of the major tourist attractions in Metro Manila, the Intramuros History Town, is poorly maintained and has lost its luster.
“Stalls have been abandoned, lamp posts are busted and the streets around it have turned into dark alleys, restrooms are padlocked, trash bins are missing and garbage are dumped in corners,” the senator noted.
Gordon deplored the tourism department’s failure to preserve and sustain Intramuros as tourist spot, which created thousands of job opportunities for Filipino entrepreneurs, vendors, tourist guides, performers and artists.
He added that the influx of local and foreign tourists that used to frequent the place even on ordinary days have been a thing of a very recent past.
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano admitted that he has focused more on international tourism concerns and had merely delegated the management of Intramuros History Town to the Intramuros Administration.
Nonetheless, the DoT chief vowed to personally look into the place and implement measures to revive its luster.
In 2002, under the leadership of Gordon, the once barren and grimy Intramuros, filled with squatters, was cleaned up and revived by thousands of volunteers. Lights were installed and the place was turned into a Philippine exhibit and cultural complex, Gordon said.
Businessmen from the various regions of the country hold an exhibit at the Clamshell and earn about P25 million a month, Gordon said
The government has to privatize the assets of the Philippine Tourism Authority or open it for joint venture with private investors if the PTA cannot profitably operate them, Senator Richard Gordon said yesterday.
“What is PTA doing when all its facilities are losing millions of pesos?” asked Gordon, who once served as tourism secretary.
Gordon made the proposal after PTA general manager Dean Barbers admitted during a Senate budget hearing that all PTA-owned and managed entities lost a total of P25.78 million this year.
Only one entity, a PTA-leased property, the Tagaytay Picnic Grove, recorded earnings for this year, noted Gordon, chairman of the Senate committee on tourism.
Among the PTA-managed properties losing money are the Hilaga Project in Pampanga amounting to P10 million; Boracay Water Sewerage System, P7.9 million, and the Zamboanga Complex, P3.8 million.
Gordon said that after six months, the committee on tourism will call a meeting with tourism officials to monitor the performance and reevaluate the PTA entities.
“The government cannot afford to lose more money and if the PTA cannot properly manage its properties, we might as well privatize them or enter into joint venture with the private sector to be able to operate these infrastructures,” the former tourism secretary stressed.
During the Senate budget hearing on the proposed 2006 budget of the Department of Tourism, Gordon assailed the DoT’s failure to maintain and preserve the glamour Intramuros as a tourist spot.
“Intramuros has started to lose its face,” Gordon lamented.
Gordon said that one of the major tourist attractions in Metro Manila, the Intramuros History Town, is poorly maintained and has lost its luster.
“Stalls have been abandoned, lamp posts are busted and the streets around it have turned into dark alleys, restrooms are padlocked, trash bins are missing and garbage are dumped in corners,” the senator noted.
Gordon deplored the tourism department’s failure to preserve and sustain Intramuros as tourist spot, which created thousands of job opportunities for Filipino entrepreneurs, vendors, tourist guides, performers and artists.
He added that the influx of local and foreign tourists that used to frequent the place even on ordinary days have been a thing of a very recent past.
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano admitted that he has focused more on international tourism concerns and had merely delegated the management of Intramuros History Town to the Intramuros Administration.
Nonetheless, the DoT chief vowed to personally look into the place and implement measures to revive its luster.
In 2002, under the leadership of Gordon, the once barren and grimy Intramuros, filled with squatters, was cleaned up and revived by thousands of volunteers. Lights were installed and the place was turned into a Philippine exhibit and cultural complex, Gordon said.
Businessmen from the various regions of the country hold an exhibit at the Clamshell and earn about P25 million a month, Gordon said
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