THE Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) has picked up the pace in its spending after persistent reminders from the Department of Finance (DOF).
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tieza Chief Operating Officer Pocholo Paragas said, “Since 2017 to the present, the Tieza board of directors has approved around P8 billion worth of projects, such as the Boracay Water Drainage Program Phase II, Rehabilitation of Burnham Park in Baguio City, Construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant in Coron, Palawan, and Masterplanning of key tourism sites.”
He added that since the beginning of the Duterte administration, the government firm’s annual budget allocation for infrastructure projects “has more than doubled every year. From P969.6 million in 2017, it has increased to P1.85 billion in 2018, and surged to P5.2 billion in 2019.”
Formerly the Philippine Tourism Authority, Tieza is the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), with the Secretary chairing the board of directors. Its other board members include the Secretaries of the Departments of Public Works and Highways; Environment and Natural Resources; and the Interior and Local Government.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez has been nagging Tieza to speed up its spending on infrastructure projects, alleging that it had been “hoarding” P14 billion in travel taxes remitted to the agency.
He also said he was in favor of removing the travel tax that individuals have to pay when traveling abroad. Instead, he said, Tieza’s budget can be funded annually “through the GAA [General Appropriations Act].”
Paragas explained the P14 billion were “savings [accumulated] from previous administrations since 2009. But what is crucial, we are now working on big-ticket high-impact projects and pushing to get approvals done, and start their implementation by this administration. I’m blessed that everyone is aligned on the direction.”
He added, “The majority of the accumulated funding of P14 billion are already allocated: P7.95 billion for 2009-2018 board-approved projects, P2.12 billion for scheduled payables, and P5.2 billion for 2019 board-approved projects,” he underscored. “DOT-Tieza met with Secretary Dominguez a few months back to discuss the direction [of the agency], and was very thankful for his insight, thus, our push to really have the banner approvals of more than P3 billion in the previous board, and more to follow in the first quarter of this year.”
Under the Tourism Act of 2009, Tieza is primarily tasked to develop, regulate, and supervise tourism enterprise zones established under the law. It is also mandated to develop, manage and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country, as well as supervise and regulate the cultural, economic and environmentally sustainable development of TEZs, and encouraging investments there.
Of the total travel taxes collected by government each year, 50 percent goes to Tieza, while the rest are split between the Commission on Higher Education and National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Last year, government collected around P6 billion in travel taxes, said Paragas, with P3 billion going to Tieza. He said, after deducting operation costs of the agency, “this leaves us with 32 percent, more or less.”
Recently, the Tieza board approved the funding of some P341 million for Iloilo’s tourism infrastructure requirements. Of that amount, Tourism Secretary and Tieza Chairman Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, P135 million will be utilized to restore three renowned Iloilo landmarks: the Arevalo Plaza, Molo Plaza and La Paz Plaza.
The Tieza will also fund the rehabilitation of the historical Jaro Belfry, the construction of a Tourism Information Center and Tourist Rest Area (Green Restroom) in Esplanade 3, improvements to the Iloilo Convention Center, and the development of the Sunburst Park, according to a news statement from the DOT.
The DOT has been promoting Iloilo City as a key destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions, with some P20 million allocated in 2019 and 2020 for the rollout of activities such as road shows, participation in travel marts, hosting, consultancy services, etc. Along with private-sector partners, and investments by the local government, total funding for the MICE campaign for Iloilo will likely reach P50 million for 2019 to 2020. (See, “Public-private funding for Iloilo MICE campaign could hit P50 million,” in the BusinessMirror, October 11, 2019.)