THE urgent pleas of the tourism industry for financial assistance seem to have fallen on deaf ears of the powerful members of the House of Representatives.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Jose C. Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, said Rep. LRay Villafuerte III (Second District, Camarines Sur), principal sponsor of the Bayanihan 2 bill, stood pat on the House’s decision to allocate P10 billion to infrastructure, instead of working capital for the tourism stakeholders.
“He said, history shows daw infrastructure development is one of the solutions to combat economic depression. We agreed, but at this point it’s not what the industry needs. The infrastructure development can come when things start to normalize,” stressed Clemente.
But, “Industry stakeholders are now hanging on by string, wala na kaming pagkukunan ng working capital namin. We were looking at Bayanihan 2 and Arise bills as possible sources of working capital,” he said. “Basically, [the meeting] really didn’t go anywhere; they were stuck to that P10-billion tourism infra allocation. He also said, if we didn’t want the P10 billion, they would allocate it to other government agencies instead,” according to Clemente.
Villafuerte, who is also deputy speaker, is among the principal authors of Bayanihan 2, or House Bill 6953 (An Act Providing for Covid-19 Response and Recovery Interventions and Providing Mechanism to Accelerate the Recovery and Bolster the Resiliency of the Philippine Economy, Providing Funds therefor, and for other Purposes), which was approved on final reading on Monday.
In the Senate version of Bayanihan 2, P10 billion was allocated directly to the tourism industry for working capital loans. In HB 6953, the P10 billion was allocated to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism. In several position papers and meetings with lawmakers, the DOT supported the industry’s call for working capital loans.
(See, “House cuts on tourism recovery assailed,” in the BusinessMirror, August 11, 2020.)
In a text message, Rep. Sol Aragones (Third District, Laguna) said at the forum with the tourism stakeholders, “Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte was able to explain that the benefits of Bayanihan 2 bill are a balanced combination of hard and soft. Direct assistance can be accessed from the P51-billion allocation through the government financial institutions (GFIs) like LBP (Land Bank of the Philippines) and DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines). In addition, loans will have a grace period of 365 days.”
She noted, “Regarding their concern on easier access to these loans, the next step is to have another meeting with them together with LBP and DBP officials, and the economic team. It was also explained that the P10-billion tourism infrastructure allocation is needed because it has a multiplier effect. We assured them that we will continue to support the tourism sector.” She said Villafuerte mentioned he would “help the industry expedite their loans.”
Aragones, who chairs the tourism committee, convened the meeting with the tourism stakeholders on Tuesday, which was attended by Villafuerte and Rep. Edgar Chatto (First District, Bohol). Chatto was one of the principal authors of Republic Act 9353, the Tourism Act of 2009. Aside from the TCP, other tourism stakeholders who attended the meeting were the presidents of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association, Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, Bohol Federation of Travel and Tour Operators, Cebu Association of Tour Operators, Boracay Foundation, Philippine Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Paceos, Davao Association of Tour Operators, and the Philippine Hotel Owners Association.
Under HB 6953, GFIs will receive P51 billion in capital infusion, of which P5 billion will be allocated for the credit guarantee program of PhilGuarantee, P30 billion to support banking facilities and equity infusion of LBP in ARISE Inc., P15 billion to support banking facilities and equity infusion of the DBP in ARISE Inc., and P1 billion in additional funding for the Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises Program of the Small Business Corp. and for its other lending programs to be extended to micro, small and medium enterprises affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and by other socioeconomic reversals.
Section 4 HB 6953 also authorizes LBP and DBP to enter into a joint-venture agreement to incorporate a special holding company, called Accelerating Recovery to Intensify Solidarity and Equity Inc. (ARISE Inc.), which is designed to “assist strategically important companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to address solvency issues, such as those with considerable impact on the economy, including companies from the agriculture, infrastructure, service and manufacturing industries, and other industries to be identified in the implementing rules and regulations.”