Local Economic Development in the Philippines: Profile of Local Project: Albay Sorsogon

I. Local Government Profile Albay Fast Facts Population Land Area Cities Municipalities Capital City Income Class Project Coverage Economic Drivers

1,233,432 257,577 hectares 3 15 Legazpi City 1st Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, and Legazpi Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, and Legazpi

Sorsogon Fast Facts Population Land Area Cities Municipalities Capital City Income Class Project Coverage Economic Drivers

740,743 211,901 hectares 1 14 Sorsogon City 2nd Donsol and Pilar Agriculture (coconut); Fisheries; Mining and Quarrying; Manufacturing

Bicol Region (Region VI) in the Philippines is internationally recognized as a tourism destination. The region is located at the southernmost part of Luzon bounded by the provinces of Quezon and Samar. It is composed of six provinces, namely: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon. Two of these provinces, Albay and Sorsogon, are involved in the Legazpi-Donsol Tourism Circuit Development Project.

Albay is bordered by the provinces of Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. The province, whose total land area is 257,577 hectares, is generally mountainous with scattered fertile plains and valleys. Aside from Mayon Volcano, it has two other major peaks: Mount Masaraga and Mount Malinao. The western coast of the province is mountainous but not as prominent as the eastern range with the highest elevation at around 490 meters (1,610 ft). Among these mountains are Mount Catburawan in Ligao and Mount Pantao in Oas & Libon.

Sorsogon, with a total land area of 211,901 hectares, is located at the southernmost tip of Luzon Island, approximately 600 kilometers southeast of Metro Manila. It is bounded on the north by the province of Albay and the Albay Gulf; on the south by Samar and the San Bernardino Strait; on the east by the Pacific Ocean; and on the west by Burias Island and Ticao Pass. Except for its overland link with the province of Albay, it is surrounded by water. It is also the gateway of Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao regions through its roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal facilities located in the towns of Matnog and Bulan.

Albay is a province composed of 15 municipalities and 3 cities and the capital is Legazpi City, named after Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish conquistador who came to the Philippines in 1565 and started the massive colonization. On the other hand, Sorsogon is composed of 1 component city, Sorsogon City (also the capital) and 14 municipalities.

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Local Economy Agriculture is a major industry in both Albay and Sorsogon. Albay is a major producer of coconut, rice, sugar, and abaca.

Meanwhile, owing to Sorsogon's rugged terrain, coconut trees dominate the provincial landscape in all municipalities.

Coconut plantations have been so widespread that they even proliferate in areas beyond 30% slope and erstwhile production forests. In some cases, these are associated with other perennial trees such as coffee, citrus, pili, and abaca. Fishing is also a common economic activity in coastal towns located within the province.

Small-scale enterprises such enterprises include handicrafts, cement production, papermaking, food processing, and abaca product manufacturing abound as sources of rural income. In some cases, especially in Albay, the production of hats, bags, mats, slippers, and other by products are the main sources of income in rural areas.

Sorsogon's industry sector is also comprised of mining and quarrying, manufacturing and construction, electricity, gas, and water. Integrated steel industries are also present in the province.

Tourist arrival growth rates in the area have increased from 20% to 60% in the last 5 years. This growth is attributed to the attraction sites including the cone-shaped Mayon Volcano and emerging tourist spots such as Lignon Hill, Embarcadero de Legazpi, Legazpi Boulevard and Cagsawa Nature Park. While tourism is a major focus in Albay, the sector in Sorsogon has not been fully tapped. Moreover, despite the inherent attractions of these provinces, its tourism industry is not competitive compared to other destinations. Local officials consider this a great challenge, especially now that Legazpi City is an emerging area for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE).

The poverty incidence in Albay is at 36.12% and in Sorsogon 32.12%, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. 1 The Human Development Index for 2009, which attempts to measure the complete concept of human development by tracking the progress of three selected aspects of human life, is recorded at 0.498 in Albay and at 0.492 in Sorsogon.2

LGUs Covered in the Project The LGSP-LED project works in the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon, covering the city of Legazpi and municipalities of Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, (GuiCaDaLe) Donsol and Pilar (DonPi) with the inclusion of Monreal in Ticao Island in Masbate.

Popularly knowns as GuiCaDaLe in Albay and DonPi in Sorsogon, the LGUs are adjacent to one another. The Legazpi-Donsol Corridor was conceptualized, harmonizing the beauty of the majestic Mayon with the gentle giant of the Sea. These LGUs are showcasing historical, cultural and natural resources. Aside from this, these LGUs also offer various culinary experiences for visitors.

LGU Albay Guinobatan Camalig Daraga

Income Class 1st 1st 1st 1st

Population 1,233,432 75,967 63,585 115,804

Land Area (hectares) 257,577 24,443 13,090 11,864

No. of Barangays 720 50 54 44

LGU Sorsogon Donsol Pilar

Income Class 2nd 3rd 1st

Population 740,743 47,563 68,245

Land Area (hectares) 211,901 15,620 24,800

No. of Barangays 541 51 49

II.

The Tourism Circuit

In its 2011-2016 Philippines National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), the Department of Tourism (DOT) set out a number of tourism development areas (TDAs) across the country. The idea is that these are the priority tourism areas that have development potential and where much of the DOT’s resources will be focused. The NTDP identifies two TDAs in the Bicol region: the cluster of provinces composed of Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon (ALMASOR) and another cluster of provinces formed by Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes (CCC).

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2015). 2015 First Semester Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippines. Quezon City: Philippine Statistics Authority.

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2016). Albay-Sorsogon Quickstat - February 2016. Quezon City. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/ird/quickstat/Albay-Sorsogon.xls LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 3

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Covering a land area of 1,051 sq. km, the Legazpi-Donsol Tourism Circuit, extending to the marine tourism sites of Ticao Island in the municipality of Monreal in Masbate province represents the core tourism cluster of ALMASOR. These are where the tourism icons of ALMASOR are found: Mayon Volcano in Legazpi, the whalesharks or butanding of Donsol, and the manta rays of Ticao Island. The Circuit spans across three municipalities (Guinobatan, Camalig and Daraga) and one city (Legazpi) in the Province of Albay, and two other municipalities (Donsol and Pilar) in the Province of Sorsogon.

LGSP-LED has taken the tourism circuit development approach as a framework for a more specific and localized analysis of the LED-enabling and tourism sector competitiveness issues of the area. Using the Tourism Circuit Plan (TCP) as a guide, it assists the LGUs in working with enterprises by enhancing visitor experience by developing more competitive tourism activities, goods, excursions, and facilities to increase visitors' length of stay and expenditure.

Tourism Access and Infrastructure Legazpi City, serves as the air gateway and main tourism service center of ALMASOR through the Legazpi City airport, which allows for good transportation linkages to neighboring provinces and the rest of the country. Most travelers and visitors use Legazpi City as the starting point for their trips around ALMASOR. Several daily flights from Manila and Cebu, as well as bimonthly chartered flight from Xiamen, China operate to and from the said Airport.

Tourism Access and Infrastructure Legazpi City, serves as the air gateway and main tourism service center of ALMASOR through the Legazpi City airport, which allows for good transportation linkages to neighboring provinces and the rest of the country. Most travelers and visitors use Legazpi City as the starting point for their trips around ALMASOR. Several daily flights from Manila and Cebu, as well as bimonthly chartered flight from Xiamen, China operate to and from the said Airport.

By land, the Maharlika Highway connects the Circuit to Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon. There are regular bus trips that depart from Manila every hour. Travelers from Visayas through Matnog Port in Sorsogon can easily reach Legazpi via a 2-3hour land trip by bus or public shuttle vans. The Circuit is also accessible by sea through two major ports, with the Pilar port LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 4

as the primary access to and from Masbate and Western and Central Visayas, while the port in Matnog, Sorsogon links it to Eastern Visayas via Samar.

The area gets reliable power service from the Tiwi and Bacon geothermal plants, National Grid Corporation, and local power companies, with intermittent blackouts during strong typhoons. All municipalities have their own water districts. Telephone and mobile services are available in most parts of the circuit.

Major Attraction Sites The TDA’s primary tourist service center is Legazpi City, the capital of Albay province and the regional center of Bicol. It is the hub of tourism activity with the highest concentration of accommodations, travel services, and other tourism-oriented enterprises. There are a variety of accommodation types from pension houses and motels, to resorts and hotels in the circuit.

About 50% of these are concentrated in Legazpi City with the rest spread out among the other five municipalities.

From Legazpi City, there are various transportation options such as air-conditioned buses, shuttle vans and traditional jeepneys, that link the different sites and attractions in the circuit. For shorter travel within a municipality, taxis and tricycles (motorcycles with attached side cars) are the common mode of transport.

The Province of Albay has identified Legazpi City together with the neighboring municipalities of Guinobatan, Camalig, and Daraga (collectively, GuiCaDaLe) as one of its three priority tourism destination clusters. The cluster offers the best vantage points for viewing Mayon Volcano. In addition, Guinobatan is known for their annual patron saint celebration of Our Lady of Assumption, called ‘Arandurugan Festival,’ which is now celebrated as the Longganisa Festival. Camalig and Daraga are both associated with popular activities for experiencing Mayon Volcano from a distance, All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rides, and the historic viewpoint of Mayon’s perfect cone from the Cagsawa ruins.

Just an hour, by land, south of GuiCaDaLe are the municipalities of Donsol and Pilar in the Province of Sorsogon. Sorsogon province considers these two municipalities as key elements of its own priority tourism corridor, which extends from Donsol and Pilar, through Castilla, to the capitol of Sorsogon City (DonPiCaSo).

Donsol has gained worldwide renown for the whale sharks or butanding that frequent its municipal waters. Neighboring Pilar, on the other hand, is emerging as a tourist destination in its own right with attractions like Panumbagan sand bar as well as unique marine encounter activities such as gathering lato (sea grapes) and sea urchins. In addition, Donsol and Pilar serve as the jump-off points for increasingly-popular marine and island-hopping activities – particularly scuba diving for encounters with manta rays and hammerhead sharks – to nearby Ticao Island, in Masbate, the third province of ALMASOR. Across the TDA, there are twelve Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited inbound travel agencies and tour operators that provide local employment. A handful of specialty shops geared towards the tourist market are spread across a few LGUs. Local souvenir products abound in the TDA, with a display center in Camalig run by the municipal government and retail shops on the site of the Cagsawa Ruins. Transport services dedicated to tourists are available through hotels and accommodation establishments, as well as public taxis, and DOT-accredited private vehicles.

Market Trends and Opportunities Visitor arrivals grew by 30.73% in Albay for the four-year period of 2010-2013; and 25.68% in Sorsogon (based on compounded annual growth rate figures). Arrivals in the TDA’s four Albay LGUs accounted for 70.41% of the province’s total arrivals, with majority of them being domestic tourists (six out of 10 arrivals based on 2013 records). The circuit attracts a wide range of visitors, predominantly from cultural and culinary, to adventure, aquatic, and eco-tourism market segments.

III.

Challenges to Local Economic Development

ALMASOR, as a distinct destination, is establishing its identity within the Philippine tourism industry. The local economies in the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon, particularly in Legazpi City, are growing. Locally sourced revenues through the growing number of commercial establishments and influx of tourists on these LGUs are consistently increasing. Tourist arrival growth rates have also been increasing in the last 5 years.

The challenges that will be discussed in the next paragraphs were identified to be addressed by the Project.

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Challenges to Enabling Environment: Enabling Policies and Programs Seeing the value of tourism as a source of significant revenue, the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon have strengthened their tourism program by institutionalizing the tourism offices and providing manpower and funding support. The provinces of Albay and Sorsogon, city of Legazpi and municipality of Donsol have permanent positions for their tourism officers while the municipalities of Pilar, Daraga, Camalig and Guinobatan designated permanent position employees to act as tourism officers.

In addition, seven (7) LGUs have designated their Local Economic and Investment Promotion Officers (LEIPOs). These LGUs are Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, Legazpi City, Province of Sorsogon, and Municipalities of Donsol and Pilar. Local Investments and Incentives Codes (LIIC) have been adopted in five (5) LGUs. Business Processing and Licensing Systems (BPLS) have been computerized in Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga,Legazpi City, Donsol and Pilar, but Tourism Statistics and Information Systems (TSIS) have not been implemented yet in any of the LGUs in the circuit.

Challenges to Tourism Sector Competitiveness Accommodation Although the TDA offers a range of accommodation establishments, almost half of these hotels and pension houses are concentrated in Legazpi City, which limits tourist expenditure and tourism impact within this area. Additionally, there is a lack of upgraded skills and competencies within the hotel workforce in the TDA and, generally, a lack of skills enhancement and economic opportunities for women in rural areas.

Guinobatan Camalig Daraga Legazpi City Donsol Total

Rooms 35 60 347 1,600 259 2,335

Establishments 3 2 27 61 24 126

Employees 35 8 117 702 N/A 874

Access and Infrastructure One of the major constraints to tourism growth is the current location of Legazpi Airport, which is too close to Mayon Volcano and, therefore, is prone to cancellations due to weather conditions or volcanic activity. Thus, the transfer of the regional airport to the new Southern Luzon International Airport in Daraga is seen as the key to linking ALMASOR, and LegazpiDonsol-Ticao in particular, to international tourism markets.

Although there are access roads, there are many sites (e.g. whale shark interaction) that would benefit from wider or completed access roads. Road and directional signs would also be helpful.

Attractions and Tourism Products Among the challenges identified in the Tourism Circuit Plan for Albay-Sorsogon is the absence of comprehensive and lean season tour packages, especially in other areas within the circuit such as Camalig and Guinobatan. The lack of year-round attractions and activities in the Legazpi-Donsol-Ticao corridor leads to distinct high and low seasons for international and domestic tourism, generally limited to the seasonal sighting of butanding (whale sharks).

There is a lack of interesting commentaries, stories, and informational signs to educate tourists. Updating information about the sites is therefore needed, such as in the case of Camalig Church and Cagsawa ruins. Visitor information centers and galleries could be added in many attractions. In many of the sites, more activities could be added in order to increase variety and to differentiate them from other attractions and ultimately extend visitors' stay.

Lastly, visitor rest areas and food and beverage establishments, two important factors for visitors, are sparse within the circuit. Developing these tourist sites are important to expand business opportunities that give livelihood and create new employment.

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Safety And Security There are many sites with poor safety and security measures such as a lack of lifeguards and an absence of necessary government regulations-compliant safety gear.

IV.

Description of the Local Project

To support LGSP-LED's ultimate goal of improved local economic development for Filipino men and women, the LegazpiDonsol Tourism Circuit Development Project sought to improve the local conditions for sustainable local economic development. By 2016, the Project sought to generate PHP 225.7 million worth of investments, to create 1,215 new jobs (for 608 males and 607 females), and to increase tourist arrivals annually by 10%.

In order to achieve these outcomes, the Project focused its interventions on two major components, namely the Enabling Environment, by strengthening the ability of participating LGUs to advance sustainable LED and Sector Competitiveness, by strengthening the ability of LED actors to plan and implement sustainable LED initiatives in participating LGUs. In particular, the Project sought to have policies and programs adopted in the LGUs to advance business-friendliness and competitiveness in the Legazpi-Donsol tourism circuit and to develop LED actors to be able to implement joint and sustainable LED initiatives for the Circuit.

Towards this end, activities and technical assistance have focused on strengthening the Enabling Environment for LED, which includes LED policies and reforms such as LIIC and BPLS, and implementing Key LED Activities to improve the tourism sector's competitiveness, which, in the case of Albay and Sorsogon, focuses on Tourism Circuit Development and Workforce Development.

The diagram below summarizes how the outputs in different components lead to the desired immediate outcomes (enabling environment and sector competitiveness), which subsequently lead to the target intermediate outcomes on investments, jobs, and tourist arrivals in the Legazpi-Donsol tourism circuit.

Summary of Project Target Results

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Project Management The Albay-Sorsogon tourism circuit is composed of two provinces, each having its own Project Implementation Teams (PIT), who planned and coordinated with each other through their common activities spelled out in the implementation plans.. For Albay, the PIT chaired by Governor Jose Maria S. Salceda, was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 09-2014 dated July 16, 2014. The team had a Technical Working Group, headed by the provincial tourism and cultural affairs officer Dorothy F. Colle as the PIT manager.

For Sorsogon, the PIT, chaired by Governor Raul R. Lee, is organized by virtue of Executive Order No. 007-2014 dated July 01, 2014. It had a Technical Working Group (TWG) headed by the provincial planning and development officer Dominador H. Jardin as the PIT manager and assisted by the tourism officer designate, Cristina J. Racelis as the PIT focal person. The six LGUs in the circuit were part of the PITs. These LGUs also organized Local Economic Development Implementation (LEDIP) teams in their respective LGUs. These were chaired by the Mayors and the tourism officers were the able representatives of the LCEs to the PITs. The various programs and activities of the two teams were supervised by a Project Management Team (PMT) chaired by DILG regional director Elouisa T. Pastor and facilitated by the regional LED focal person, May Isabel R. Rosal. At the regional level, DILG collaborated with other national government agencies, such as the DOT and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), as well as with the private sector in the efficient implementation of the project. In the conduct of various capacity building interventions, the DILG provincial PMT facilitated convergence with national government agencies, academe, and private sector.

Key Partners The PITs and PMT had collaborated with national government agencies, academe and private sector. Through the efforts of DILG, government agencies such as DTI and DOLE, who had similar projects for the beneficiary LGUs, pooled together their human and financial resources and linked with LED project in order to achieve the desired objectives.

The PMT worked out some complementation of resources among the partners. For instance, to provide livelihood for women of Sorsogon, the PIT and PMT tapped the resources of Sorsogon State College as trainer and venue of the activity, while DTI proposed for the food packaging of meat products and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the starter kits to start up a small business. The women of Sorsogon who were also participants to the food processing training was provided by the city government with a multi-purpose building as venue for their livelihood activities. They were further given equipment support and granted soft loans as starting capital. One concrete result of this activity was the immediate employment of Neriza Necer, one of the women participants trained on food processing, in a first class restaurant in Cavite.

As to the participation of private sector, the PITs were able to forge the commitment and participation of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Albay and Sorsogon chapters and the Legazpi City Tourism Stakeholders, Inc. on the crafting of the Local Investments and Incentives Code (LIIC) and Tourism Code. The Association of Accredited Travel Agencies and Tour Operators extended full support to the development of enhanced products on tourism as shown on the enhanced tour packages with uniform rates, to be adopted by all tour operators. The Federation of Women of Pilar and Kapisanan ng Liping Pilipina were instrumental in the furtherance of the livelihood program for women’s groups, as initiated thru the LED project.

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On infrastructure, Pilar and Camalig received financial assistance of 2.5 million each thru the DOT’s Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) project for the construction of visitor information centers. While the center in Pilar was under construction, LGSP-LED project complemented this by capacitating the tourism staff and frontliners who would manage the center on enhanced customer care and emergency and quick response. The provincial governments of Albay and Sorsogon, through their PITs, were responsible in directing the wheels of development towards the attainment of local economic growth through tourism in their respective LGUs.

V.

Project Result and Assessment

Building a More Business-Friendly Environment for LED The LGUs have been creating an enabling environment for business and investment in the Albay-Sorsogon circuit through the adoption of enabling ordinances, policies and programs in line with DILG’s Business-Friendly and Competitive LGUs (BFCL) program. From 2014 to 2016, a total of 208 (133M, 75F) LGU leaders and staff participated in LGSP-LED training and technical assistance activities to enhance their knowledge on LED and tourism, as well as specific enabling poliicies such as computerizing BPLS and updated local investment incentives and revenue codes.

1. All the participating LGUs in the Albay-Sorsogon tourism circuit now have automated Business Permit and Licensing Systems (Auto BPLS). Applying software and training provided by eGov4MD through the assistance of LGSP-LED, helped the local governments of Guinobatan, Camalig, and Daraga in Albay3 as well as Donsol and Pilar in Sorsogon to facilitate the speedy processing of business permit applications and renewals starting January 2016. There were 434 tourism-related businesses registered this 2016.

2. The 2 Provincial Governments and the 6 participating LGUs of the Circuit drafted eight new or updated Local Investment Incentives Codes (LIIC) with technical assistance and training from the Local Government Academy (LGA). The new ordinances in all the other LGUs have undergone public hearing, deliberation at the Sanggunian committee level, and are in the process of adoption.

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Legazpi City already had a computerized system in place LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 9

The Auto BPLS Software was utilized during the Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) at the Municipality of Camalig on January 2016. The municipalities of Guinobatan, Daraga, Donsol, and Pilar also installed the Auto BPLS Software and implemented the system to help improve business processing in their LGUs. In 2016, 434 tourism-related businesses have been registered in these municipalities.

3. The LGUs formulated and adopted LGU Business Plans for Workforce Development Plan which were submitted to DILG for funding through the Department’s Training for Better Access to Job (TRABAJO) Program. Through this program, the 2 Provincial Governments received funding assistance in the amount of PhP 5 million each to install provincial Skills Registry Systems (SRS) and assist local technical-vocational institutions in upgrading their training facilities. Legazpi City received PhP 10 million while the five other municipalities received PhP 3 million each to implement training programs in priority skills identified with the local private sector. The projects will also include assistance strengthen the capacities of their respective Public Employment and Service Offices for more effective engagement with their private sector partners in operationalizing their SRS, generation of labor-market information, and conduct of job-matching activities.

Given the vulnerability of Albay to calamities brought about by typhoons and frequent eruptions of the Mayon Volcano, CCADRRM is an obvious point of emphasis for the Provincial Government. With training and assistance from the Provincial Government, 32 male and 15 female tourism officers, LPDOs and DRRMOs formulated Local Disaster and Climate Change for Tourism Adaptation Plans (LDCCTAP) for all 3 cities and 15 municipalities of the Province. These LDCCTAPs will now be integrated into the Provincial master plan for tourism. In line with this, the Provincial Government of Albay approved the provincial ordinance regulating and protects tourists and mountaineers on climbs to Mayon Volcano.

The local chief executives (LCEs) who will remain in public service after May 2016 elections and the local government personnel holding permanent position as the tourism officers, LEIPOs and BPLOs shall be responsible in carrying on and sustaining the progress achieved by the LGUs in area of business friendliness and tourism competitiveness.

For Albay and Sorsogon, the following champion LCEs seeking and expecting reelection are Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Mayor Josephine Cruz of Donsol, Mayor Gerry Jaucian of Daraga and Mayor Ann Gemma Ongjoco of Guinobatan.

Expectantly, Congressman Al Francis Bichara who is also a tourism development advocate is running unopposed for the governor seat in Albay. Apparently, Governor Jose Maria Sarte Salceda will still work with the three LGUs of the GuiCaDaLe circuit with his bid for representative’s position in the second district of Albay. With this political trend, it is expected that local economic development in the Circuit shall continue its growth.

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Summary of LGU Officials and Technical Staff Trained Male LCEs 3 LEIPO and Staff 2 Tourism Officers and Staff 24 PESO Managers and Staff 2 Other LGU Staff 102 LCEs 3

Female 2 2 25 3 43 2

Total 5 4 49 5 145 5

Tourism Sector Competitiveness The Project aimed to implement the Legazpi-Donsol-Ticao (LEDOTI) circuit development program by developing new tour packages, enhancing skills of LED actors to provide more competitive services and products, and preparing investment tools to promote investment opportunities in the circuit. Albay-Sorsogon implemented two LED Initiatives for Tourism Circuit Development (involving product development and investment promotion) and Workforce Development to address gaps and immediate concerns identified in the Albay-Sorsogon Tourism Circuit Plan (TCP). This TCP integrated two priority tourism clusters of the respective Provinces: Guinobatan-Camalig-Daraga-Legazpi (GuiCaDaLe) in Albay and the municipalities of Donsol and Pilar which, along with Castilla and Sorsogon City, are part of Sorsogon Province’s DonPiCaSo Tourism Corridor With the Tourism Circuit Plan as the guide, the Albay-Sorsogon Local Project delivered three (3) base tour packages that the LED actors of the circuit offered to the industry and their clients. In keeping with the Project’s learning-by-doing approach to capacity development, 48 (25M, 23F) tour operators, guides, transport operators and other tourism industry players from Albay and Sorsogon gained insights and experience on tour packaging and marketing from the LGSP-LED consultant. With the collaboration of the LGUs and DOT they enhanced and organized the attractions and activities of the Circuit into three major tour packages showcasing the cultural, community based, eco-marine and culinary destinations. The base tours were designed as 4 day/3 night or 3 day/2 night packages which can also be segmented for half-day or whole day excursions as well as overnight packages for visitors with limited available time.

Base Tours: Explore ALMASOR package (The Heart of Unlimited Fun!) – This is an all-year round product meant to appeal across market segments. With Legazpi as the hub, the package allows full day exploration of Donsol-Pilar in Sorsogon, Ticao Island in Masbate, and Guinobatan, Camalig, and Daraga in Albay. Thus, it is intended to be ALMASOR’s signature package, and fill the gap from the whale shark (butanding) lean season. (4D/3N) Dream Adventures package – This packages the destination’s strengths in adventure-based products (e.g. swim with butanding, highlands trek, ATV ride, wall climbing, etc.) to the more active travel segments and those looking for not-so-usual venues for fun (3D/2N) Kulinarya Albay – This is designed as a one-day tour package built around the culinary heritage of Guinobatan, Camalig, and Legazpi. Tourists get to taste signature dishes and sweets like the laing, longganisa de Guinobatan, sili ice cream, halo-halo and pili nuts

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The new tour packages, with matching promotional video showcasing tourist destinations in ALMASOR, were launched by the Provincial Tourism Offices and the local tour operators promoted at the Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) and Bicol Travel and Food Expo (BTFE) in September 2015. These were also promoted in various activities such as the PATA convention and Winter Escapade.

One immediate outcome of the Local Project’s convergence approach to the implementation of the Albay-Sorsogon Tourism Circuit Plan was the incorporation of Ticao Island in Monreal, Masbate, as a priority attraction site of the tourism circuit. This had supported the AlbayMasbate-Sorsogon (ALMASOR) tourism convergence of the 3 provinces and the DOT, as well as the findings and recommendations of the Albay-Sorsogon Tourism Circuit Plan (TCP). As a result, the beach, diving (especially for encounters with manta rays), and community-based activities in Ticao Island/Monreal were included in the tour packages developed by the participating LED actors in the Local Project. In this regard, the Local Project closely coordinated with the DOT Regional Office to further facilitate the integration of the Monreal/Ticao Island tourism sector and actors with Donsol and Pilar. In the photo, Dorothy Colle, Provincial Tourism Officer and LGSP-LED PIT Manager for Albay, greets Engr. Ben Espiloy, Municipal Mayor of Monreal during the technical visits conducted during the design phase of the tour packages. With Ms. Colle is Phillip Bartilet of the DOT Regional Office.

The series of capacity building activities provided to workforce of the Circuit improved tourism governance and the quality of tourism frontliners. Hotel and resorts front desk were now better equipped with the right knowledge and proper attitude in handling tourists and guests. More so, the marine tour guides also learned the proper way of handling on and off shore emergency cases. The involvement of the private sector, national government agencies and foreign funded institutions further added to producing better human resources and workforce.

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In preparation for the area’s hosting of international events such as the APEC Ministerial Conference and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) events, the Project trained 37 frontliners (11M, 26F) on customer service and tour LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 12

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handling. Related to this, the Project provided training for 34 (all male) marine eco-guides also called Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs), from Donsol, to enhance their tour handling and nature interpretation skills. This included a reinforcement of protocols and guidelines on tourist behavior during the interaction with the whalesharks (butanding) for the safety of both tourists and whalesharks.

In Sorsogon, 39 beneficiaries (all but one were women) of DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s), or the conditional cash transfer program, were trained on processing and packaging breakfast meats (e.g. tocino, ham, etc.) for sale to local tourism establishments as well as the resident market. Following the training activity, the Provincial Government of Sorsogon and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Provincial Office provided the women’s groups with livelihood equipment to be able to apply their learning to actual enterprise activity. The Municipal Government of Pilar also provided office and training space as well as additional training for fish and root crops processing for the trainees from the town. The LGUs and DTI continue to assist the groups in the marketing of these products.

The LGUs of Donsol and Pilar organized tourist emergency response teams and trained 8 male and 2 female resort owners and on emergency and quick response procedures for the safety and security of tourists during calamities and disasters. These front liners were taught skills in handling and providing first aid during accidents, assuring the safety of tourists during calamities, and emergency response while interacting with the whale sharks.

Individual LGUs have also applied their learnings from LGSP-LED activities to upgrade or enhance their own tourism sites and products within the larger Tourism Circuit. One concrete example was the municipality of Camalig, Albay which intensified its tourism programs and promotional activities after the participation of its Mayor and Tourism Officert in a Local Project learning exchange to Vigan (Ilocos Sur) and Laoag (Ilocos Norte). The local leadership reports that the trip inspired the development of Camalig’s Sumlang Lake and Quitinday Hills as emerging tourist destinations. More potential tourist activities and amenities are now being planned for the municipality’s Quitinday Cave and Falls, which can be compared to the Underground River in Palawan.

Food Processing Training for the Women's Groups of Donsol and Pilar and the KALIPI Women's Group of Sorsogon City (April 15-17, 2015 at Sorsogon State College)

Emerging Results New Investments Generated Albay-Sorsogon circuit targeted an amount of PhP 225.7 million for public and private investments on tourism related facilities and infrastructure for 2016.

As of March 2016, local and national government investments in tourism-enabling projects for Albay totaled an estimated PhP 5.7 billion for construction (ongoing) of priority transportation infrastructure, such as the new Bicol International Airport in Daraga (expected to be operational in 2018), tourism roads under the DOT-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Convergence for land connections among the Airport, the GuiCaDaLe cluster, and Donsol-Pilar; and construction of LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 13

the Roll-On, Roll-Off (RORO) wharf and Baywalk in the Municipality of Pilar and the visitor information centers in Pilar and Camalig.

On the other hand, total tourism-related private investments in the circuit from 2014 to 2016 have been estimated at PhP 65 million for the Legazpi City and the 5 other municipalities. The largest of these investments are retail developments in the main tourism service center of Legazpi City.

1. Ayala Malls is a 4 storey- shopping mall with 200 stores located within a 1.4 hectare in the heart of business district area of Legazpi City. It opened on December 16, 2015.

2. Yashano Mall is a 3-storey shopping mall located in Bitano, Legazpi City. It opened on November 27, 2015.

3. Gregorian Mall is a 3-storey mall within a 2,855 square meter lot located in Albay District, Legazpi City where construction is on-going and to open this October 2016. Within the mall premises is the Legazpi City Museum.

In addition, there have also been some new investments in small commercial accommodations such as: 1. Riserr Residences in Washington Drive, Legazpi City has with 13 rooms which opened on August 2015.

2. La Granja in Alternate Road, Legazpi City has 9 rooms and 4 private KTV rooms which opened on September 21, 2015.

3. Sunway Inn in Bogtong, Legazpi City has 22 rooms which opened on November 6, 2015.

4. Legazpi Garden Hotel in Bitano, Legazpi City has 28 rooms and opened on March 22, 2016.

5. FJ Manila Hotel in Daraga has 19 rooms which opened on September 2015.

New Employment Generated The Ayala and Yashano Malls are reported to have a combined employment of 1,250 people comprising the officers and staff of the malls as well as staff, workers, food servers and crew of the store concessionaires. The owner of the Gregorian Mall estimates that 500 new jobs will be created when it starts operations in October 2016. Including the new jobs anticipated from the Gregorian Mall, it is estimated that about 2,000 new tourism-related jobs will have been created in the Circuit by the end of 2016. These would include: • • • •

50 workers categorized as porters, eatery helpers and port aides of the newly-established RoRo port in Pilar, Sorsogon 100 newly trained local tour guides in Camalig, Legazpi City, Pilar and Donsol 50 food servers and attendants of the 10 new restaurants and food centers 50 regular staff, cooks and hotel attendants of 5 new accommodation facilities

The LGU PESO managers project that at least 500 more new jobs shall be generated from 2016 to 2018 with the implementation of the Training for Better Access and Job Opportunities (TraBAJO) program in the 6 LGUs. Based on the workforce development plans of the LGUs, these new jobs would be for cooks, bartenders, food servers, masseurs/masseuse, hotel workers, tour guides and many others.

Increased Visitor Arrivals Annual visitor arrivals to the Albay-Sorsogon Tourism Circuit rose from 636,158 in 2013 to 1.128 million in 2015. This represents a remarkable 33% average annual growth rate over the period.

Annual Visitor Arrivals GuiCaDaLe Donsol-Pilar Total for Circuit

2013 615,770 20,388 636,158

2014 747,544 14,538 762,082

2015 1,110,982 17,579 1,128,561

%Share (2015) 98.4% 1.6% 100%

As shown in the table above, Albay’s GuiCaDaLe cluster continues to account for almost all of the visitor arrivals to the Corridor – a little over 98.4% of the total. More specifically, Legazpi City has the lion’s share of arrivals, as may be expected from the administrative center of the Region as well as main service center of ALMASOR. In 2015, Legazpi accounted for more than 87% of all arrivals to GuiCaDaLe; a little over 85% of total arrivals to the entire Circuit.

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It is interesting to note that Legazpi’s share of arrivals, though still very large, has actually been decreasing. In 2013, Legazpi accounted for 94% of arrivals to GuiCaDaLe. This dropped to an 89% share in 2014, then another 5 percentage points in 2015. This is due to the increasing number of overnight visitor arrivals recorded in both Guinobatan and Daraga.

On the other hand, Camalig has not yet shown a similar surge in overnight visitor arrivals. Nevertheless, the LGU is reporting increasing numbers of day-visitors to its main attractions of Sumlang Lake and Quitinday Hills in Camalig. From only 12 thousand visitors in 2014, the sites recorded a combined total of 94,010 day-visits in 2015, after the LGU intensified its product development and promotion activities for the sites.

The tourism numbers for Donsol and Pilar have been fluctuating from 2013 to 2015. This may be attributed to a combination of factors including inefficient data collection on the part of the LGU tourism offices, limited cooperation of tourism establishments in the reporting of arrivals, as well as natural factors such as seasonal weather conditions and unpredictable behavior of butanding. Regardless of the actual reasons, it cannot be disputed that Donsol and Pilar’s share of overnight visitor arrivals remains relatively small.

Crosscutting Themes Gender Equality Gender and development concerns were integrated to the Albay-Sorsogon local project. The local project was initiated through a value-chain based tourism circuit planning where gender and development issues and concerns were considered.

Among the concerns highlighted include: lack of equal opportunities for men and women to economic development as well as the need to integrate gender concerns in the policies, plans and programs of the members LGUs. To jumpstart the implementation of the Albay-Sorsogon local project on tourism product development, the Albay team composed of the mayors and tourism officers of the member LGUs of the tourism circuit and the private sector partners benchmarked in Ilocos Sur and Norte, being a heritage tourism destination. One of the learnings of the municipal mayor of Camalig Mr. Carlos Irwin Baldo was the institutionalization of the tourism code to regulate the tourism industry which promotes gender equality feature in Camalig: The Tourism and Cultural Heritage Code of Camalig, Section 2, letter d. and Article X states that: The Municipality shall further administer the heritage resources in a spirit of stewardship for the inspiration and benefit of the present and future generations promoting gender-responsive governance through promotion of equal representation of women in decision-making bodies; creation, strengthening and activation of local machineries on women; the promotion of the proper utilization of the GAD Budget in relation to cultural heritage and tourism.

Integrating Gender and Development with Tourism. Women’s Employment and Participation in Tourism aims at bringing gender aspects of tourism to the attention of policy makers, especially the issues of women’s employment in the tourism industry and women’s local participation in tourism planning and management. It presents information about the situation of women as members of the workforce in tourism industry locally through flagging up good practice of women’s participation at the local level.

On the other hand, the tourism code of the Province of Albay also known as Ordinance No. 2003-009 enacting the Tourism, Culture and Arts Code of the province of Albay, Section 3.2.f points that: “Achieve a balance in sustainable tourism development between urban and rural areas in order to spread the benefits of tourism and contribute to poverty alleviation, gender and development, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation.”

The Local Project has conducted activities to create livelihood opportunities for women in communities in the Tourism Circuit.

In Sorsogon, 43 members (1M, 42F) of the Kapisanan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI) of Sorsogon City and the Federation of Women of Pilar (FWP) were trained to process meat into marketable ready-to-cook products like tocino, ham, tapa, longganisa, etc. This activity was intended for the participants, almost all of whom were homemakers, to gain alternative opportunities for generating income for their families. At least five women from Pilar4 have reported that they are now earning extra income from the sale of their processed meat products through their food carts and from orders from neighboring households within the community.

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Rachelle Hernandez, Imelda Dalumpines, Jean Poseran, Hazel Atun and Jocelyn Llona LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 15

Environmental Sustainability Given the vulnerability of Albay to calamities brought about by typhoons and frequent eruptions of the Mayon Volcano, the province provided training to 31 male and 12 female tourism officers, LPDOs and DRRMOs of the 3 cities and 15 municipalities, to better prepare the province in responding to such disasters. Guided by the identified hazards on tourism sites, the activity resulted to the formulation of draft Local Disaster and Climate Change for Tourism Adaptation Plan (LDCCTAP).

In line with this was the passage and approval of the provincial ordinance on the Mayon Climb, which regulates and protects tourists and mountaineers. The LDCCTAP, which is now undergoing incorporation in the master tourism plan of the province, shall guide the local governments in promoting tourism and mitigating disasters. This was another undertaking of the province to strengthen its program of ensuring zero casualties every occurrence of calamities.

The training on Emergency and Quick Response and Training on DRR developed the skills of the 25(22M,3F) BIOs, tour guides and accommodation facilities’ staff in providing the immediate and necessary response to the tourists and guests in times of emergency and disaster. The program further oriented them on safety procedures, environmental protection and conservation. As an offshoot of this program, the LGUs of Donsol and Pilar organized the tourism frontliners into an emergency and quick response team and further provided additional training by the respective LDRRMOs. Program on Local Disaster and Climate Change for Tourism Plan (LDRCCTP). This program is an offshoot of the Training on Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Climate Change Adaptation conducted by the Canadian consultants in Cebu City.

With the vulnerability of the communities of Albay to imminent danger posed by Mayon volcano and the frequent visits of typhoons, the provincial government headed by the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) along with its 3 cities and 15 municipalities formulated their LDRCCTPs. As a follow through, these individual plans are now on process of consolidation into a Provincial Tourism Master Plan.

Poverty Reduction The Local Project’s contribution to poverty reduction was determined in part by the stakeholders’ ability to link communitybased enterprises to the mainstream tourist activities between Legazpi City and Donsol. The development of tour packages for Albay-Sorsogon and Masbate was an opportunity that integrated the MSMEs into the tourism circuit. The communitybased tourist activities such as the gathering of lato (sea grapes) and sea urchins, which were part of the tour packages developed for Donsol-Pilar, were not just entry mechanisms for poor residents or communities into the local tourism sector.

More importantly, these community-based activities per se added value and uniqueness to the overall visitor experience – thus contributing to the overall competitiveness of the tourist circuit and packages as a whole. Also included as activity in the tour package in Sorsogon was interaction with butanding. Under LGSP-LED, unemployed men were trained to become Butanding Interaction Officers. This gave them seasonal employment through guiding tourists as they interact with butanding.

In addition to this, 42 women who were mostly housewives were trained on meat processing and to date, five of them market their products to the local communities and food carts.

On top these efforts, the Province Governments of Albay and Sorsogon and the member LGUs of the tourism circuit were supported by LGSP-LED in terms preparing the Workforce Development Plans. These plans mapped out opportunities on tourism and BPO in Legazpi City in partnership with the tourism enterprises. Based on the skills requirements of the private sector, the member cities and municipalities through the PESO proposed skills trainings. Target participants for the skills training were unemployed residents of the target and should be indigenous people, Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, out-of-school youth or persons with disabilities (PWDs). All Workforce Development Plans were approved by DILG under its Training to Better Access Job Opportunities (TRABAJO) Program and implementation will immediately start this year following the issuance of operational guideline from DILG Central office and will be implemented until next year.

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The 3- Day Training on Marine Eco-Guiding and Enhanced Training for BIOs in Donsol and Pilar was conducted Dancalan, Donsol, Sorsogon from November 26 to 28, 2014. The training was attended by forty two (42) participants, mostly men, from Donsol and Pilar; each representing a different sector of service providers such as Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs), tour guides, firefly guides, dive shop owners/staff, MDRRMO staff and tourism staff; with Manuel Romeo Jayco from Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, together with his team, as the resource person.

VI.

Lessons Learned

There were several lessons learned from the implementation of the LED project in Albay-Sorsogon. The most important ones are mentioned below.

1. LED starts with a common understanding of the local economic conditions, opportunities, and challenges.

A seemingly self-evident lesson learned from the Local Project is that a good understanding of the current conditions and future prospects of the local economy is the essential first step in undertaking a LED Program or Project. However, LED must be a multi-sectoral process involving LGUs, private sector, communities, and other stakeholder groups. For these various groups to work well together, they must have a common appreciation of the opportunities and challenges facing their local economy. The stakeholders must also agree on the possible strategies for achieving inclusive local economic growth, given these challenges and opportunities.

Thus, the lesson is not just about understanding the local economy but more about LGU, private sector, and other stakeholder groups, understanding it – together. This would then be the first step in planning and implementing the LED Project as a partnership-based undertaking of the LGUs, the private sector, and other partners.

2. A geographic cluster framework, like the Tourism Circuit, can promote multi-sectoral and inter-LGU partnerships for LED by facilitating the identification of common concerns as well as opportunities.

The tourism circuit plan heightened the importance of inter-LGU cooperation by graphically showing where the key LED interventions were most needed across the TDA as whole. The TCP clearly showed how issues of infrastructure, environmental sustainability, tourism product development, destination marketing, and employment required regional economic solutions beyond any single city or municipality. Thus, the TCP emphasized how interdependent the member cities and municipalities are with each other.

At the same time, the TCP also highlighted the roles and responsibilities of LGUs, NGAs, and the private sector in improving the competitiveness of the various tourism sites, as well as the enabling environment for business and investment around LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 17

them. By doing so, the TCP also showed the specific areas where converged efforts of LGUs, NGAs, and/or private sector were most needed.

3. Developing LGU LED Champions is essential to successful LED Programs.

The LED Project will not move, or will not move as quickly, if the Governor does not fully appreciate the process of sustainable and inclusive LED. This is also true for Mayors at the city and municipal level, but Governors have an additional opportunity to encourage and support inter-LGU cooperation for LED. Thus, LCEs should be properly educated on LED as a strategy to reduce poverty and promote inclusive growth by becoming more business-friendly and competitive LGUs. The LCEs must then be oriented more specifically on the activities and target results of the LED Project. This is useful to ensure their buy-in as well as to encourage their assignment and empowerment of qualified, competent, and dedicated LED staff. Finally, regular updates and opportunities to participate in training, benchmarking, and other LED activities can sustain the LCE’s engagement and reinforce their role as LED Champions.

Given that LCEs rarely have free time on their schedules to take part in prolonged training activities, alternative learning methods for gaining knowledge on LED facilitation and business-friendliness can be used. These can include learning exchanges or peer mentoring programs, as well as workshops for producing specific BFCL policies and programs where they can learn-by-doing.

4. LGU LED Team members must be trained and qualified to become advocates for business-friendliness and inclusive LED within the LGUs. Well-qualified, trained, and motivated LEIPOs, LGU tourism officers, and PESO managers were key factors in driving their respective LGUs to complete the formulation or planning of business-friendly LGU policies and programs. The adoption and implementation of these policies, plans, and programs will also be dependent on these officers, as well as other LGU staff with LED-related mandates.

The LED Team of the LGU (both, provincial and municipal) must be the day-to-day champions/advocates for the LGU’s program for business-friendliness and LED competitiveness. Yet, key LGU offices with LED-related mandates such as LEIPO, Tourism Office, and PESO are still interim appointments with temporary offices and working budgets. These LED officers are more effective, and work better with each other, when they are confident in their mandates, their capabilities, and the support that they receive from their respective LGUs. Thus, agents for economic and tourism development within the LGUs such as LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, and PESO managers must be made permanent as quickly as possible, and officially supported with appropriate staff development and financial resources needed to implement sustainable LED and BFCL programs. They must be empowered to work closely with the LGU Planning and Development Offices as well as the frontline regulatory offices (e.g. BPLO) and to partner with the private sector on various LED initiatives.

Strong Provincial LEIPO, Tourism, PESO, and Planning Offices are necessary to provide technical support and mentoring to their municipal counterparts, who may not have the same resources, experience, and institutional connections to NGAs and national or regional industry. At the same time, the Provincial LED Officers can facilitate cooperative activities or programs among the peer officers of LGUs in the circuit.

5. Engaging the private sector in planning and implementing the LED Program Building can lead to a more businessfriendly, entrepreneurial mindset within the LGUs LGUs need to understand clearly the needs of private businesses and investors in order to design effective, responsive LED programs and services. The Tourism Office cannot determine the priority tourism product development and destination marketing needs of the circuit without inputs from private tourism establishments and tour operators. The LEIPOs must engage local proponents through the local business chamber in order to be ready with the investment information, identify the priority projects, and match them effectively with investors. PESO Managers cannot implement effective job-training and employment matching programs without partnering with the local employer sector to determine their anticipated workforce needs. LGUs must partner with the academe, private sector and resource institutions to tap their expertise in order achieve holistic development in all areas of local governance. This was observed during the preparation of the enhanced new tour packages and workforce development plans. This served as a feedback mechanism to the local leaders on the furtherance of the program.

Strong collaboration with the private sector is not only a key factor for successful implementation of LED Activities. The exposure to private sector practices and perspectives can also strengthen the client-orientation of the LED Team (especially LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, and PESO Managers). At the same time, continuous implementation of the LED Program as a joint public-private undertaking helps clarify the enabling roles of the LGU vis a vis the local industry’s efforts to become more competitive and inclusive. The automation of Business Permits and Licensing System and the approval of the Local Investment and Incentive Code (LIIC) will define the mutual relationship between the local government and the business LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 18

sector. Five LGUs already implemented the auto BPLS on January 2016 and facilitated the immediate process of adoption of the LIIC of the eight LGUs. As of now, most of the LIICs are on second reading in the respective Sanggunian.

6. Convergence among Provincial and National Government Agencies is necessary for effective delivery of LED support services and programs.

LGUs, by themselves, will have a difficult time achieving full local economic development. The support and resources of national government agencies such as DOT, DPWH, DOTC, DILG, etc. are necessary for LGUs to achieve their higher target outcomes. With the convergence of result- and service-oriented NGAs, the eight LGUs of the Circuit got the maximum benefit from the LGPS-LED project. Convergence also helped to avoid duplication of programs by NGAs and LGUs. The accelerated growth of the city of Legazpi and the municipality of Donsol in tourism was attributable to the partnership forged with international funding agencies like the WWF, private sector like the ACTA and LCCI and local resource institutions like Bicol University.

VII.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The Local Project has been able to make significant progress towards creating a more enabling environment for sustainable development of the local economy, and particularly the tourism sector, among the LGUs of the Tourism Circuit. However, the work is far from complete, and there are many remaining opportunities not just to sustain but also to extend the gains of the Local Project beyond LGSP-LED. The key lesson learned from the Local Project is that the main role and responsibility of local government in advancing LED is to enable sustainable and inclusive local economic development to grow. It does this primarily by providing a local policy and public service environment that facilitates the efficient, effective, and ultimately profitable operations of local enterprises.

Another role for local governments is to support the growth and integrated development of its tourism enterprises (micro to large) as one competitive value chain operating across the circuit. In this role, the LGU continues to play an enabling position in functions such as business investment, product development, and workforce development where the private sector and other non-government players are more capable. However, the LGU can take a stronger leadership role in functions such as destination marketing and public infrastructure investments where the local private sector does not have the resources and/or interest in taking the lead.

Thus, the main LED priorities for the LGUs remain: 1. Establishing, strengthening, and enhancing the effectiveness of local policies, plans, and programs for more business-friendly environments for sustainable and inclusive economic development, and 2. Supporting and engaging local businesses, including MSMEs and investors, in continuing to build a more competitive priority economic sector, i.e. local tourism industry.

Recommendations for Sustaining the LED-Enabling Environment in the LGU On the aspect of continuing the drive for improved business-friendliness and competitiveness of the LGUs, the general direction should be: 1) to strengthen and ensure the permanence, i.e. regular operations, of the key structures for LED promotion in the LGUs such as LEIPO and Tourism Office, and 2) to institutionalize the key LGU policies and programs for business-friendliness and support to competitive sectors. Thus the main recommendations for continued and improved business-friendliness of the LGUs are: 1. Ensure that the Provincial and City/Municipal Governments have LEIPO, Tourism, and other LED-related Offices with fulltime personnel and adequate resources. All the eight LGUs of the Circuit have tourism offices with corresponding budget and work station, mostly under the supervision of the local chief executives. Out of the eight, only the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon, Legazpi City, and the municipality of Donsol have permanent position for tourism officers. Only Legazpi City has created a permanent LEIPO position. ! !

These offices can initially be established through Executive Orders, and eventually institutionalized through local legislation in partnership with the local legislature.

Include in the LGU budgets, sufficient funds and resources for the effective and harmonized operation frontline BFCL LGU offices such as BPLO (and Business-One-Stop-Shop), LEIPO, Tourism Office, PESO, Planning Office, etc.

Funding for continuous technology improvement and staff development related to LED information systems (e.g. auto-BPLS, skills registry system, tourism statistics, land-use and hazard maps, agricultural statistics, etc.) should be included in these budgets, to the extent feasible.

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2. The new or re-elected City and Municipal Local Chief Executives should work immediately with their respective Sangguniang Bayans to approve the new or updated LIIC formulated through the assistance of DILG and LGSP-LED. 3. In addition, the LGU Executive-Legislative teams should also prioritize the formulation and adoption of ED and tourism development plans with the CDP and CLUP, and other local regulatory measures. Among the priorities should be: ! !

Integration of DRRM-CCA, including provisions related to LED and investment promotion, in subsequent updating of the Provincial Physical Framework Development Plan and the corresponding city/municipal CLUP and CDP. Development of protective enabling policies on human trafficking, child labor, and safe workplaces should be developed, using the TCP to identify key locations/sites for priority attention.

4. The case of Albay provides a model for local governments in the pursuit of effective DRRM-CCA to address the threats brought about by hazards and long-term effects of climate change. Considering that the other local governments in the ALMASOR are not yet on the level of Albay in terms of DRRM-CCA systems, there is a need for the alliance to seriously pursue the replication of the Albay experience in order to elevate their status. In line with this, the Albay provincial government should assist the provinces of Sorsogon and Masbate to upgrade the DRRM-CCA capacities of both technical personnel and elected officials through peer-to-peer learning activities aimed at improving institutional development. !

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The current concern in Donsol over the decreased sightings of butandings for the last 5 years is a classic example of how sustainability of economic activities anchored on nature-based tourist attractions can easily be affected by changing environmental conditions. This should be addressed through a science-based approach that makes use of scientific studies to determine the factors that affect the health of the environment. Considering the apparent lack of adequate information on the butanding in Donsol, it is recommended that assistance will be sought for the conduct of studies to determine factors such as disturbance, feeding patterns and prey distribution and abundance. This will be aimed at acquiring sufficient information that will guide decision-making towards sustainability.

Donsol River is the most extensive in Donsol municipality with head headwaters as far as Jovellar in Albay. Similarly, Putiao River originates from tributaries coming from Albay and outflows to Panlatuan Bay and Ticao Pass. Since watersheds do not respect political boundaries, it is recommended that effective management by local governments should be undertaken to avoid adverse environmental concerns that could affect the ecosystems downstream and eventually affect the tourism attractions such as the butanding and fireflies. To effectively address concerns arising from flooding, erosion and sedimentation, it is necessary that inter-LGU cooperation will be in place for comanagement of the watersheds. This would involve harmonization of land use plans so that land use conflicts will be avoided between adjoining municipalities or cities and instead ensure complementary land uses for sound watershed management. At the provincial level, this can be further addressed by ensuring harmony among the provincial physical framework plans of provinces with adjoining boundaries.

5. The Provincial Government should continue to work closely with the LGUs in the tourism circuit to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Development plan formulated through the assistance of LGSP-LED. !

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In updating the plan, it is recommended that the LGUs should expand the scope of the TCP updating activity to include Ticao Island and other identified tourism sites in Albay-Sorsogon as extensions of the existing tourism circuit (e.g. Castilla and Sorsogon City linked to Donsol-Pilar) and/or new, complementary sub-circuits (e.g. Mayon Skyline and CRABS in Albay) within ALMASOR. The Provincial Governments and the partner cities/municipalities should coordinate with the DOT Regional Office to ensure that the priority infrastructure, site development, and institutional as well as human resource development needs for the circuit are integrated into the updated National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022.

The updating of the TCP should include a review disaster- and site-vulnerability issues and concerns affecting the sites of the Tourism Circuit in Sorsogon and Masbate, similar to the activity already done by Albay in the preparation of LGU DRR Action Plans for tourism.

The LGUs in the Circuit, through the Sanggunian or the Office of Community Affairs, should enjoin participatory governance. They should advocate with the civil society organizations working in the priority sites to help them in the planning and sustainable development of these sites. These sites should be equipped with fun filled activities, excellent tour guides and world-class community based products and services in order for the circuit to compete and be at par with major tourist destinations in the country

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6. The Provincial Governments should form a Local Economic Development (LED) Team to oversee the planning and implementation of LED Initiatives in the Province and the Tourism Circuit in particular. The LED Teams can be organized in a similar fashion to the project implementation and management arrangements for the LGSP-LED Project. ! !

The Governors should provide overall policy direction, strategic advise and leadership to the team.

The core LED Teams should include members from the Provincial Government’s economic officers (the LEIPO, the Provincial Tourism Officer, the PESO Manager, and the Planning Officer) and the partner institutions from the private sector. At the same time, continue and strengthen the coordinated planning and project implementation between Albay and Sorsogon PIT on the core tourism circuit and including the Province of Masbate on plans and activities for Monreal’s (Ticao Island) inclusion in the core tourism circuit.

7. Support LGU efforts to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Plan by: !

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Ensuring that the LCEs and their LED teams are fully oriented, as part of the NEO program, on the key issues, priorities and recommendations from the TCP, as well as the updated 2017-2022 NTDP. The LGUs may then take up the relevant recommendations and concerns as part of their Executive-Legislative Agendas and various local development plans that they will be formulating.

Facilitating coordination and communication with counterparts in the Regional Offices of partner NGAs, especially those without Provincial units such as DOT, to ensure effective, harmonized delivery of support services and programs for planning and implementing the various LED initiatives.

Facilitating the local planning processes, and mobilize City/Municipal LGOO cluster in the circuit, so as to encourage inter-LGU coordination such that common LED and tourism concerns can be addressed in a coordinated manner across the circuit. In relation to this, DILG should mobilize Coordinating and facilitating the provision of technical assistance and coaching, through convergence, of technical assistance and coaching from DENR, DSWD, PCW, and other NGAs/development partners, so that the updated TCP and related municipal plans and programs continue to integrate issues and concerns related to gender equality especially the protection of women and children, environmental sustainability, and disaster risk reduction and management.

Recommendations for Sustaining the Tourism Circuit Development and Sector Competitiveness Program Through the Local Project, the Provincial Government and its partners in the cities/municipalities in the tourism circuit have implemented some initial activities to develop the TDA into a more attractive investment destination with a more competitive tourism circuit and industry. While there have been clear gains achieved to date, there are still many important issues to address for this progress to be sustained. More importantly, much work remains to be done in order to ensure that the growth from LED and tourism will become truly inclusive and beneficial to more people.

While the private sector should continue to drive the product development, business investment, and employment generation components of tourism circuit development, the Provincial and Municipal Governments must also continue to support and enable its private sector partners through: ! ! !

Direct public investments or facilitation of public-private partnerships (PPP) for LED-enabling infrastructure to improve accessibility (e.g. ports and roads) and cost of doing business (e.g. power, water, sewage, sanitation) Market-linkage programs and services to connect local communities, businesses, and products to market intermediaries, buyers, and investors through destination marketing and investment promotion activities and events.

Provision of LGU programs and systems to raise the supply and quality of available human resources in the tourism sector through effective workforce development planning, training and education, and job-employer matching – in partnership with the local industry.

In this regard, the main recommendations for LGUs to enable a more competitive and sustainable tourism sector in the TDA are: 1. Establish a Public-Private Team within the LED Team to focus on ensuring the funding and implementation of priority LED-enabling infrastructure projects identified in the TCP, as well as on organizing investment promotion events and activities to seek investors for priority investments to address competitiveness gaps in the tourism circuit (e.g. hotels and resorts, tourist transport, tourism estates, etc.)

2. The Provincial LEIPO, in partnership with the Local Chamber, may organize regular (quarterly or twice a year) meetings with the counterpart LEIPOs and chambers from the LGUs of the circuit to plan and coordinate investment promotion priorities and activities

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3. Through the Provincial Tourism Offices, and in partnership with the private sector associations, should jointly design and implement destination marketing activities for the tourism circuit. ! These activities should continue to be undertaken under the umbrella of the regional ALMASOR marketing program of DOT and the 3 member-provinces. ! Joint marketing activities, led by the Provincial Tourism Offices of Albay and Sorsogon, and including the LGU of Monreal, Masbate should be organized to specifically promote the products and packages of the GuiCaDaLe to Donsol-Pilar-Ticao corridor within the overall regional arrangement ! The destination marketing and promotions program should aim to increase market awareness and interest for the tourism circuit, through the use of traditional collaterals (e.g. brochures, video, etc.) and new media (e.g. website, social media, etc.) ! The marketing program should also include support for selling and market intermediation activities by local tour operators and sellers together with LGU tourism officers. These activities may include participation in local and international trade fairs, organizing selling missions and inbound familiarization trips for tour operators and travel media.

4. Through the Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO), working within the LED Team, implement the LGU Tourism Workforce Development Plan for the Tourism Circuit. !

!

This combines the component training activities for developing the basic as well as enhanced skills of local tourism workers with LGU-employer association programs to match qualified trainees with employment opportunities in local tourism establishments.

The LGUs in collaboration with DOT and other institutions should provide training to new workforce and upgrade the skills and competencies of the existing ones. This can be done through the periodic conduct of the following training: " Hospitality management in hotels, resorts and homestays to include frontline service and housekeeping " Enhanced customer care for tourism front liners to include the tour guides, travel agency owners and staff and transport owners and drivers " Basic tour guiding and specialized guiding

5. Support and encourage private sector efforts to enhance and diversify the tourist activities and key attraction sites of the TDA, consistent with the recommendations of the TCP and the overall marketing and branding position of the destination. ! !

Provincial Tourism Offices can facilitate and support market-linkage efforts of local private sector efforts to sell circuit tour packages to the national and international markets.

Seek support from DTI, development partners and NGOs for technical assistance to MSMEs and communitybased livelihood groups to design and produce high quality souvenirs and tourist merchandise based on the overall marketing and branding strategy for the destination.

LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 22

Annexes Local Project Performance Summary INDICATORS

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL BASELINE

RESULTS

TARGET RESULTS

INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES

CUMULATIVE (MARCH 2016)

New Investments

0

Description

Private Tourism Investments

0

Investments in Albay (58M) plus 300 additional rooms Donsol-Pilar New Daraga International Airport; Improvements to Pilar Port

Value (PHP) 225.7M

5.765B 65.0M

1,215

50 new additional hotel rooms 5.7B New Bicol International Airport in Daraga, Tourism Roads,RORO Wharf and Roll on, Roll Off (RORO) wharf and baywalk in the Municipality of Pilar and visitor centers in Pilar and Camalig 1500

Male

608

750

Female

607

750

Tourist Arrivals (Growth Rate per year to 2016) Tourist Arrivals (Annual Volume by 2016) IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES

10%

33.19%

636,158

869,231

1,128,561

18

19

42

LGU Business Plan (Workforce)

0

2

8

LGU Business Plan (Investment Promotion) LEIPO Designated LEDIP Establishment LIIC Adopted

0

2

0

7 0 5

1 0 8

1 8 0

BPLS Computerized

0

0

1

Tourism Statistics system implemented

6

5

5

LGU Tourism Development plan adopted TOPCOP Program/Plan implemented

0

0

1

0

0

1

Others (ordinances regulating tourism activities in Donsol,Sorsogon and Mt Mayon in Albay) Business Registrations

0

0

2

Public Investments

0

Employment (New)

874

Enabling Policies Adopted

502

303

434

LED Actors with Capacity to Plan/Implement

0

4

5

LED Initiatives Implemented

0

2

2

LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 23

OUTPUTS LEIPOs Trained

0

LCEs

32

208

8

5

LEIPO and Staff

0 0

8

4

Tourism Officers and Staff

0

8

49

PESO Managers and Staff

0

8

5

Other LGU Staff

0

LGU Business Plans & Policies Formulated LGU Business Plan (Workforce)

20

20

64

0

2

8

LGU Business Plan (Investment Promotion) LIIC Formulated/Updated

0

2

0

5

8

8

LGU BFCL Action Plan Formulated

0

0

2

BPLS Installed

6

5

5

LED Information Portal Established

0

0

2

145

LGU Tourism Statistics Action Plan Formulated

6

Tourism Statistics system installed/strengthened Tourism Code formulated/updated

0

0

2

3

1

8

LED Initiatives Planned

0

LED Actors Trained

2

2

199

142

PIT Members Trained (non-LGU)

0

4

0

Workers, Entrepreneurs Trained

0

190

125

Other non-LGU

0

5

17

LGSP-LED Albay-Sorsogon Local Project Completion Report | 24