House Bill 7229 seeks to protect the country鈥檚 tourist spots. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / LESTER LEDESMA
The House committee on tourism has approved a bill which seeks to protect tourist destinations in the country from environmental issues.
On Saturday, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, committee chair, said she filed House Bill 7229 or the proposed 鈥淧hilippine Sustainable Tourism Act鈥� to address the Filipino people鈥檚 clamor for resolution and action, especially on issues of environmental degradation, public health and to prevent future 鈥渃esspools.鈥�
Boracay, a resort island in the province of Aklan in Western Visayas and a major tourist destination, was described by President Rodrigo Duterte as a 鈥渃esspool鈥� because of the worsening sewerage conditions in the island. Its six-month closure for rehabilitation is scheduled to start on April 26.
Gomez said sustainable tourism was no longer a choice but already a new norm.
鈥淭he Philippine Sustainable Tourism Act will offer a paradigm shift from our old ways of doing business in the tourism industry,鈥� Gomez said in a statement.
鈥淭herefore, we must all band together to protect the industry that has helped lift our country鈥檚 GDP (gross domestic product) growth,鈥� she added.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines sustainable tourism as: 鈥淭ourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities鈥�
The proposed measure creates the 鈥淧hilippine Sustainable Tourism Council鈥� which would be convened by the House committee on tourism, and would have the responsibility of achieving and maintaining 鈥淪ustainable Tourism鈥�
It would be composed of members of the House and Senate tourism committees, 聽the Department of Tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry; National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Finance; Department of Budget and Management; and Local Government Units, among others.
Among the tasks of the Philippine Sustainable Tourism Council are to establish a unified definition of 鈥淪ustainable Tourism;鈥� establish goals to achieve and maintain 鈥淪ustainable Tourism;鈥� and integrate all existing laws pertaining to the Tourism Industry in various areas that influence the sustainability of the industry.
Likewise, the Philippine Sustainable Tourism Council is mandated to create new and necessary policies and regulations to achieve national 鈥淪ustainable Tourism鈥� goals; institute a system for accountability to systematically enforce the Act; and to generate procedure for mainstreaming 鈥淪ustainable Tourism鈥� laws and their enforcement at all levels, from national agencies to local government units. /cbb