2nd Front Page BusinessMirror
A12
Friday, February 17, 2017
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Conversion of closed mines into ecotourism sites eyed By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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HE Duterte administration has at least P80 million in funds to develop potential ecotourism sites and help support communities affected by the closure of select mining areas. This was disclosed as Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said she is ready to sit down with Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez on potential ecotourism areas. In a text message to the BusinessMirror, Teo said the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) can develop closed mining areas into ecotourism sites. “We are actually talking of ecotourism so we can help communities,” she said. The Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary chairs Tieza, an attached agency formerly known as the Philippine Tourism Authority. Asked if exploratory talks have
already been held with Lopez regarding potential ecotourism sites, Teo said, “Not yet. [But] I will sit down with her on this.” Lopez recently announced the completion of a mining audit by her department, and said she was determined to close down several mines that have violated environmental laws and those in watershed areas. Watersheds help protect the supply of drinking water of local communities, as well as irrigation water for farms. She added that the local communities in the closed mining areas will earn more if their sites are devoted to ecotourism activities. Tiez a COO Gu i l ler A sido explained that “part of our mandate is to develop ecotourism projects. And we have identified this effort on ecotourism as a major initiative for 2017”. He added the agency has a budget to develop ecotourism sites: “It’s 5 percent of travel-tax collections; that’s about P80 million. That’s an
ASIDO: “That’s about P80 million. That’s an annual budget that we would like to work on with the DENR and DOT. And with tourism’s multiplier effect, it will really help [the local communities that will be affected by the mining closures].”
annual budget that we would like to work on with the DENR [Department of Environmental and Natural Resources] and DOT. And with tourism’s multiplier effect, it will really help [the local communities that will be affected by the mining closures].” A recent study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) showed that travel and tourism directly supported 1.26 million jobs or 3.3 percent of total employment in the Philippines in 2015. “It is expected to rise by 3.1 percent in 2016 and rise by 2.4 per annum to 1.65 million jobs
[3.3 percent of total employment] in 2026,” the WTTC added. In 2015 travel and tourism’s total contribution to employment, “including jobs indirectly supported by the industry”, was 10.3 percent of total employment, or roughly 4 million jobs. “This is expected to rise by 3.5 percent in 2016 to 4,145,500 jobs and rise by 2.5 per annum to 5,288,000 jobs in 2026 [10.6 percent of total],” it also said. In contrast, data from the Mining and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR indicated that mining and quarrying jobs accounted for only 0.6 percent of total employed persons in the Philippines, or 236,000. According to the Barcelona Fields Studies Center, “Tourism not only creates jobs in the tertiary sector, it also encourages growth in the primary and secondary sectors of industry. This is known as the multiplier effect, which, in its simplest form, is how many times money spent by a tourist, circulates
through a country’s economy. “Money spent in a hotel helps to create jobs directly in the hotel, but it also creates jobs indirectly elsewhere in the economy. The hotel, for example, has to buy food from local farmers, who may spend some of this money on fertilizer or clothes. The demand for local products increases as tourists often buy souvenirs, which increases secondary employment.” The DOT is targeting a 13.2-percent share in total employment for tourism in 2017. “And the number of poor beneficiaries [Filipinos living below the poverty line] as target is 471,631,” the Tieza chief said. While some of the mining areas to be closed are watershed areas, Tieza still believes it is still feasible to turn them into ecotourism sites. “It’s a matter of agreeing with the DENR on what is the proper framework and guideline to be observed in identifying the appropriate project. There are international standards, as well, [that can be followed in
Even NAPC could not believe govt’s poverty-incidence data
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By Cai U. Ordinario
@cuo_bm
he National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) expressed its disappointment over the quality of government data, citing for instance the big drop in poverty incidence in just a sixmonth period. It noted that accurate data is crucial in the government’s efforts to lift an estimated 6 million Filipinos out of poverty by 2022.
In a briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, NAPC Secretary Liza L. Maza said it was a surprise how poverty data decreased to 21.6 percent in full-year 2015, from the initial estimate of 26.3 percent in the first six months of that year. In March 2016 the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) released its data saying firs-semester poverty incidence reached 26.3 percent. But in October 2016, the statistics agency said 2016 fullyear poverty incidence decreased to 21.6 percent. “I think it is important to note that when we came in, we have a poverty incidence of about 26 percent and then it suddenly dropped to 21 percent. We issued a statement stating my disbelief on the figure, so I mean that has to be settled; what is the poverty incidence of the Philippines today?” Maza said. Determining the exact level of poverty incidence in the country is the first step toward reducing poverty to 14 percent by the end of the Duterte administration. Maza, however, said she remains confident that addressing the 10 basic needs of Filipinos, primarily through land reform, could lift 9 million to 15 million from poverty. This, she clarified, is based on the 26 percent initially estimated by the PSA. “ I t h i n k l a nd reform is very vital in solving poverty in our country. We will never escape poverty if we will not undertake true agrarian reform,” Maza said. T h is cou ld be h igher t h a n t he government’s own targets. According
21.6%
The PHL’s poverty incidence at end-2015, according to the PSA to National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target is based on the latest poverty data. Based on the full-year 2015 data of the PSA, there were 21.93 million poor Filipinos nationwide. This decreased from the 23.75million estimate in 2012. “The reduction [of poverty incidence by population] to 14 percent means about 6 million will be lifted from poverty,” Edillon told BusinessMirror on Thursday. In terms of efforts to reduce poverty, Maza said the NAPC is focusing on efforts to improve Filipinos’ access to the 10 basic needs and these are food and l a nd refor m, w ater, she lter, health, education, work, social protection, healthy environment, peace and participation. She added that pushing for the resumption of the government’s peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front-New People’s Army (NPA) would help a lot. Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana earlier said the President has approved an all-out war against the NPA who extort money from residents in barangays and businessmen. Lorenzana said the government considers the NPA as terrorists that were no different from the Abu Sayyaf that kidnap individuals with the goal of extorting money from their kin or the government. “We know that the root cause of [the] armed conflict is also the root cause of poverty. I think it is good to resume the peace talks, so that we can seriously talk about this and reach an agreement on social and economic reforms, like, for example, land reform,” Maza said. Maza added these are better ways to address poverty, and not through programs, such as the Conditional Cash-Transfer (CCT) Program. The NAPC head said the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSW D) is already thinking of removing the CCT. She said that, rather than continuing the CCT, the government would do well to invest its resources on livelihood programs that may have greater impact on the lives of the poor. “By its very concept, the CCT cannot address poverty. I don’t think it will ever, ever address poverty,” Maza said. Edillon, for her part, said that while the CCT will not solve the current state of poverty, it remains a “robust solution” that can create long-term rewards for the country. The World Bank has expressed its support for the CCT as an effective social safety net, but urged that it be implemented alongside efforts to undertake rural-infrastructure projects, electrification and universal access to quality education. Since the program’s inception, the number of CCT partner-beneficiaries increased from 340,000 to more than 4.4 million at the end of 2015—making it the fourth-largest CCT after programs in India, Brazil and Mexico. “CCT will not solve current povert y [ levels]. It w il l take time and there should be other i nter vent ions to i mprove growth prospects. But it is a robust solution,” Edillon said. The CCT extends a health grant amounting to P500 mont h ly year-round and an education g ra nt of P30 0 per c h i ld for 10 months each year to each participating household. To receive these cash grants, preg n a nt women mu st ava i l themselves of prenatal- and postnatal care, and be attended during childbirth by a trained professional. Parents or guardians must attend the family-development sessions, which include topics on responsible parenting, health and nutrition. Other conditions include children aged 0 to 5 must receive regular preventive health checkups and vaccines; those aged 6 to 14 must receive deworming pills twice a year; and children between 3 and 18 must enroll in school, and maintain an attendance of at least 85 percent of class days every month.
developing watershed areas into ecotourism sites],” Asido pointed out. The WTTC study also showed that travel and tourism directly contributed about P570 billion to the Philippine economy as expressed in the GDP in 2015. This was equivalent to 4.2 percent of the GDP. The same study showed that the total contribution of travel and tourism to the country’s GDP was P1.43 trillion in 2015, or 10.6 percent of GDP. “It is forecast to rise by 6.6 percent in 2016, and to rise by 5.4 percent per annum to P2,590 billion [11.2 percent of GDP] in 2026.” The mining industry, on the other hand, contributed only 0.6 percent of the GDP in 2015, with its gross value added at current prices estimated at some P81 billion. WTTC is an international organization of travel industry executives promoting travel and tourism worldwide. It regularly issues reports on the impact of tourism on the global economy, as well as the economies of different countries.
Senators eye Amla coverage of casinos By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
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ENATORS looking into the casino operator Jack Lam-Bureau of Immigration (BI) P50-million bribery scandal traced the money trail to Lam’s casino partners, giving impetus to senators’ initiative to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla) and include casinos on the law’s list of covered institutions. Sen. Francis G. Escudero suggested its inclusion in Amla after grilling key personalities linked to the case involving former Immigration Bureau officials Al Argosino and Michael Robles, who were reported to have “extorted” P50 million from Lam to release hundreds of Chinese dealers nabbed in Pampanga and Cagayan free-port casinos for working without permits. Under questioning by the investigating committee chairman, Sen. Richard J. Gordon, Lam’s associate Alex Yu admitted Lam asked him to get the money from Lam’s casino partners to secure the release of Chinese casino workers arrested during the raid, led by the two immigration commissioners, who claimed they took the casino money as part of an entrapment operation. Yu told senators that following Lam’s instructions, “we borrowed the money from Lam’s [casino] business partners” and brought it to the parking lot of the house of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. President Alfredo Lim to consolidate the money before it was delivered to the two BI officers purportedly to bail out the Chinese workers. Testifying under oath, former policeman Wenceslao Sombero confirmed to Senate investigators that Argosino allegedly first demanded P100 million to free the 1,800 Chinese workers in Lam’s casinos of which only 800 have working visas. Sombero said he told the BI officer he will convey this to Jack Lam, admitting to Senate probers that he was “shocked” at the amount initially demanded by Argosino purportedly for “goodwill”. Sombero added that Lam wanted to help the arrested Chinese casino workers but did not want to advance the money and instead called his associates and business partners who agreed to put up P50-million fund for “bail money”. But Sombero insisted under questioning by Gordon that he was not involved in getting the bribe money from Lam’s casino operators. “But I was instructed by Alex Yu to get two people [identified only as Martin and Garfield] to pick up the money from the City of Dreams Casino,” Sombero testified, after which the money was taken from three casino partners of Lam and delivered to the two mmigration officials.