More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Tourism continues to make a resurgence in aftermath of the pandemic.
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| https://www.traveldailynews.asia/organizations/philippines-tourisms-resurgence-elevates-economic-development-rankings-under-marcos-administration/ |
Discover how the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, led by Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, attributes tourism’s impressive ascent to a top economic driver to the visionary policies of the Marcos Administration. Learn how strategic measures, from easing pandemic restrictions to fostering partnerships, have revitalized the industry, resulting in remarkable growth and contributions to the country’s progress.
Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco says the ascendance of tourism as among the top drivers of economic development, ranking second for the first 6 months of 2023 is a result of the Marcos Administration’s prioritization of the industry, noting its vital contribution to the country’s progress.
Government economic data reveals that from January to June 2023, the rebound of tourism in growth areas emerged as the second driver of economic development in the country.
The number one driver of growth is the registered high employment rate since the start of the year, followed by the resurgence of tourism, increase in investment registration activities, and students coming back to school.
Speaking before some 300 members of the PHILTOA’s 4th General Membership Meeting held at the Crimson Hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa on Thursday (10 Aug), Secretary Frasco reiterated the pro-tourism policies implemented by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. provided the impetus needed to reinvigorate the industry badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Philippine tourism is back and it’s back with a vengeance. The robust growth and recovery of Philippine tourism is consistent with what we have seen since the start of the Marcos administration,” said Secretary Frasco in her extemporaneous keynote address.
“The effort of our President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, Jr. at the very beginning, was to send the unequivocal message that tourism is a priority. And therefore, he mobilized the entire national government to come together to assist the Department of Tourism to open up the Philippines once again to travel,” the tourism chief added.
Frasco cited the efforts of the government to ease pandemic restrictions such as the lifting of the mandatory mask mandate, the use of the One Health Pass, the approval of e-visa for select tourism source markets, the reintroduction of the Philippines’ cultural and natural assets, the directive to provide tax refund to foreign visitors which is now in the process of legislation, and recently, the Presidential Proclamation 297 that lifted the state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines, among others, which according to Frasco, greatly helped in mobilizing our tourists to come into and go around the country.
In Baguio faster recovery in the tourism industry is seen as hotel occupancy rates are up.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207863 |
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) on Tuesday said the hotel industry here is now expected to recover from the effects of the pandemic at a much faster rate thanks to the continuous spike in hotel occupancy.Andrew Pinero, spokesperson of the HRAB and client relations manager of the only five-star resort in the city, the Baguio Country Club, said accommodation establishments are experiencing high occupancy rates as the city becomes an attractive destination for "revenge tourists" due to its accessibility and cooler climate.
"We are on the road to recovery but now shorter. If we projected at least five years before we can fully recover, now we can say at least three years," said Pinero in an interview.
He said they noticed a 15- to 20-percent increase in the average monthly tourist arrivals based on hotel bookings.
Currently, the average monthly hotel occupancy in the city is 80 percent, even higher than the 60 to 65 percent before the pandemic, he said.
"We are seeing a high tourist arrival rate, especially on weekends which we hope will continue to allow us to recover in full," he said.
During the quarantine period in 2020, the tourism industry posted an estimated PHP1.46 billion in losses. The amount is based on the 540,373 local tourist arrivals from February to May 2019, computed on a daily expenditure of PHP2,700 per person per day.
Pinero added that when the city started a slow but safe opening to tourists, the arrivals started to show an uptrend that continues to this day.
"If this showing will continue, the projection of five years will be cut short," he said.
He said no accomodation establishment has yet reported any recent losses or having a hard time with their businesses. Even transient houses are also experiencing an increase in bookings, he added.
The Niyogyugan Festival is back after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208167 |
The Niyogyugan Festival, Quezon province’s annual event to celebrate its coconut farmers, resumed after a three-year halt, bringing in an average of 20,000 tourists daily.
The 11-day long festival that ended Saturday is part of the province’s commemoration of the birth anniversary of President Manuel L. Quezon.
It was the first to be held since its last staging in 2019, after which the Covid-19 pandemic canceled all events.
Data from the Quezon provincial government showed that between 18,000 and 24,000 tourists participated in the daily activities.
So, overall tourism is on the uptick throughout the Philippines.
The DOH's budget for 2024 has been slashed by 10 billion pesos.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1819337/recto-flags-p10-billion-slash-in-2024-budget-for-doh |
The allotment next year for the Department of Health (DOH), an agency that used to be front and center in the government’s budgeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been slashed by some P10 billion, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said on Sunday.
The Batangas representative noted that, under the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) of P5.768 trillion for 2024, the government has set aside only P199 billion for DOH, compared with its approved allocation of P209 billion this year.
Among the biggest casualties of the lower budget for the DOH, according to Recto, were the country’s four major specialty health facilities — the Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Center of the Philippines, Heart Center of the Philippines, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center.The recommended funding for the four health institutions which poor Filipinos heavily depend on dropped by a total of P818 million, the veteran lawmaker lamented.
Even the proposed allocation for the Medical Assistance for Indigents Fund was slashed by more than P10 billion, leaving it to just P22.2 billion compared with the present allotment of P32.6 billion, Recto said.
He noted that the budget for social services had been taken over by spending for the “big payroll and overhead [expenses] in maintaining a large bureaucracy [and] the rising debt service.”
But he also said that “Congress and the Executive [branch], in the spirit of cooperation, will find ways on how to increase the health budget,” as they had done in the past.
“If the budget were a sculpture, then revenues are the clay from which it is made from. You cannot make a big sculpture if you don’t have enough materials,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“Budget-wise,” Recto said, “the DOH is still reeling from the effects of long COVID-19 as shown by the proposed P20-billion allocation for ‘Public Health Emergency Benefits’ for health workers.”
The DOH still as 20 billion pesos allocated for health workers due to the pandemic.
The shipping industry is still struggling post-pandemic.
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| https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/08/21/news/national/challenges-hound-shipping-industry/1906322 |
THE shipping industry faces unprecedented challenges, including the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, high fuel costs and global economic slowdown, the head of a shippers organization said.
Interviewed at SMNI's "Business and Politics" program, Patrick Ronas, president of the Association of International Shipping Lines, said that during the pandemic, there was a sudden drop in demand for goods, disruptions in supply chains and closures of businesses that affected shipping volumes and operations.
"All of us were affected by the pandemic, which has caused a significant volume drop in shipping. Everything was closed down, but we were one of those essential people like terminal operators, truckers and those in the logistic sector who remain on the ground, ensuring that cargoes or containers will be delivered," Ronas told the program host, The Manila Times CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd.
He said the shipping industry had hoped that cargo volume would rebound to pre-pandemic levels.
In mid-September 2022, the industry hit its 2019 volume. And in the first half of 2023, imports were up by 1.15 percent, which Ronas sees as a good sign.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/23/muntinlupa-tallies-1-active-covid-19-case-in-a-week |
The Muntinlupa City government recorded only one active Covid-19 case in one week as the country also registered a decrease in the weekly tally of new cases.
Data from the Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO) showed that from Aug. 15 to 21, one active Covid-19 case was recorded, down from two cases tallied from Aug. 8 to 14.
The lone case is registered in Barangay Alabang while the rest of the eight Muntinlupa barangays have zero active cases.
From Aug 15 to 21, only one new Covid-19 was recorded, rising from 47,310 to 47,311. Recoveries totaled two in the past week from 46,644 to 46,646 and there were zero deaths in the past week.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported that nationwide, a total of 789 new Covid-19 cases were recorded from Aug. 14 to 20 or a daily average of 113 cases. The total is 15 percent lower compared to the tally from Aug. 7 to 13.
There are 11 severe and critical cases nationwide and 10 deaths recorded from Aug. 7 to 20.
15% lower. And how much lower next week?
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