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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Thursday, February 9, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Department of Tourism (DOT) suspended the inspection of various proposed tourism-related road projects in Western Visayas following the rebels’ ambush of government troops in Tapaz, Capiz.
These proposed projects were mostly access roads leading to potential tourism destinations in hinterland areas.
“We do not want our teams to be where the action is. We can never tell (what will happen),” said DOT regional director Helen Catalbas yesterday, citing the lifting of the ceasefire between the government and New People’s Army (NPA).
In Tuesday’s Tapaz ambush, a soldier of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion was killed and two others were wounded. That same day, Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced in Malacañang that the government was waging an “all-out war” against armed communist rebels.
Catalbas, however, clarified that established tourist destinations in Western Visayas remain safe. DOT will be issuing travel advisories should there be a need to do so, she added.
“We are just taking a proactive measure in so far as our operation sa DOT is concerned,” said Catalbas.
DOT-6 is checking out a total of 152 proposed tourism-related projects worth P10.6 billion; these were proposed by congressmen.
According to Catalbas, 89 of these were in Iloilo city and province, Antique and Capiz.
DOT does not just accept proposals; it deploys teams to inspect the sites and determine their tourism value, explained the regional director.
“We are also suspending the inspection or monitoring of our bottom-up budgeting projects. These are tourism projects in the poorest of the poor barangays and towns all over the region,” Catalbas added.
DOT-6 will resume its inspections when the peace and order situation stabilizes.
“For the time being, indi lang anay, sa safe side lang anay kita,” said Catalbas.
In Manila, Armed Forces spokesman Col. Edgardo Arevalo said an “all-out war” means the government will use all available assets of the military to accomplish its mission.
“Our intention is to defeat the enemy, to defeat the NPA,” Arevalo said.
The suspension of inspections, however, will not necessary delay the proposed tourism projects, stressed Catalbas.
Proposed tourism-related projects already inspected may be recommended for early implementation, she said.
“Kag kon mag-favorable na ang condition, i-double namon ang inspection,” added Catalbas.
On Sunday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he now considers the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing NPA and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as a terrorist group.
“Yes, it is an all-out war because they are already considered by the President as terrorists,” Defense secretary Lorenzana in a press briefing in Malacañang./PN
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