The air, sea and land tourism transport services sector is now properly represented in the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza). This, according to Domingo T. Duerme, who was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a member of the board of directors (BOD) of Tieza last April 27.
Under Republic Act No. 9593, also known as Tourism Act of 2009, Tieza shall have an authorized capital of PhP250 million fully subscribed by the National Government and shall be under the supervision of the Secretary and attached to the Department of Tourism (DOT) for purposes of program and policy coordination.
Its mandate is to be a body corporate which shall designate, regulate and supervise the Tourism Enterprise Zones (TEZs) established under this Act, as well as develop, manage and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country. It shall also supervise and regulate the cultural, economic and environmentally sustainable development of TEZs toward the primary objective of encouraging investments therein.
Further, Tieza shall have the power to impose penalties for failure or refusal of the tourism enterprises to comply with the approved development plan, which shall also be considered a violation of the terms of accreditation.
Funding
For its operations, Tieza shall obtain funds amounting to 50% of the proceeds from travel tax collections; a reasonable share from the collections of the Office of Resource Generation, to be determined by DOT; income from projects managed by Tieza; and subsidies or grants from local and foreign sources that may be received by Tieza.
In order to gather many proposals from different sectors involved in TEZs, Duerme said there will be feedbacking activities in the Tourism Congress to be conducted this year. Also, Tieza has groups of people whose tasks are focused on the proposals which they will recommend to the BOD.
Better Facilities
Duerme said there is yet no particular project this year for the transport sector. However, he welcomes proposals which shall be recommended to the Board for approval. He underscored the need for proper facilities in airports and terminals, saying these are important in promoting tourism in the country. Particularly in bus terminals, he said there must be clean public toilets and adequate sleeping quarters for travelers.
In Davao City, where Duerme is based, the overland transportation terminal in Ecoland also needs improvement of facilities. Officer-in-charge Col. Jusop Jimlani said, due to shortage of water supply, toilets in the Ecoland terminal are not clean and functional. Anyone seeing all those large pails and drums of water inside the comfort rooms do not have a good impression of the facility. But, he added that they have better toilets than in other city terminals. If that is any comfort to local travelers.
Jimlani says he is glad to know about the objectives of Tieza, considering that financial resource is important. “Kailangan muna magkapera kami ng marami (We need to earn more money),” he said, before they can improve the facilities. He also mentioned their problem in collecting rental fees, saying some renters have not been paying for almost a year now.
One is to 55
With seven toilets for males and eleven for females, the public comfort rooms in the terminal are managed by a private sector. The maintenance in-charge said there is an average of 1,000 users every 24-hour span, or roughly one toilet for 55 users. Not a comfortable thought.
The fees paid by users are the only source from which management pays for the supply of water and electricity, maintenance, rental, business permit and standard operating procedures. Deducting the salaries of 15 maintenance personnel from the income is enough to break even.
P15 per head
For lack of sleeping quarters, travelers embarking from the Ecoland terminal find comfort lying in folding beds they rent at PhP15 per individual until it’s time to board their buses.
The passenger buses bound for destinations like Gen. Santos, the Cotabato provinces and Pasay City leave at 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. as scheduled. At 5:00 p.m., passengers start to arrive, some of them renting Manong Alberto’s folding beds.
Alberto Uriarte, 62 years old, said three pesos of the PhP15 rental fee goes to the government. Providing folding beds at the Ecoland terminal for the past 15 years, Uriarte said some of those involved in the “beds for rent” business have been operating thereat for 20 years now.
There are 16 owners of folding beds at the terminal who charge the same amount of rental. Uriarte said loss of mobile phones, slippers and shoes is the common complaint of bed renters, although such incidents are rarer today, thanks to the presence of security groups.
Management’s plans to improve facilities in the terminal have boosted passengers’ hopes to enjoy their travel from departure to arrival. But in the meantime, Manong Alberto and the management of the terminal’s public toilets will have to continue to make do despite the lack of amenities.
