THE Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) is ready to assist in getting Marawi City back on its feet, and facilitate a resurgence of tourism activity in the area.
In a text exchange with the BusinessMirror, Tieza COO Pocholo Paragas confirmed he has had previous discussions with Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto of the Mindanao Development Authority on how the tourism agency can help in rebuilding Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur. Alonto sits on the board of Tieza, which is a government-owned and -controlled corporation under the Department of Tourism (DOT) tasked with developing tourism infrastructure, as well as developing and managing tourism enterprise zones and government-owned tourism properties.
“The main need in Marawi now is to rebuild the accessibility and road network of the area,” said Paragas, “but Tieza can help in the master planning of the area to contribute to their economic development and enhance its tourism potential.” He added that “a lot of coordination is required with such an area and we will wait for further direction from Malacañang.”
The national tourism agencies are constrained from acting directly on helping Marawi as it is under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a separate source intimated. The ARMM has its own secretary of tourism, Ayesha Vanessa Hajar M. Dilangalen, the source explained, who may have her own ideas on how to revitalize Lanao del Sur’s tourism industry.
But privately, DOT officials have expressed hope that the Marawi crisis would end soon, and martial law lifted in Mindanao as the region’s tourism activities have been sorely affected.
Data from the DOT showed visitor arrivals reached 8.5 million in 2015, the bulk of which came from Davao region, at 2.8 million. No data was available for the ARMM, however. Before the outbreak of hostilities between government troops and Islamist separatist elements in Marawi, DOT officials were optimistic that visitor arrivals in Mindano would grow by 10 percent to 20 percent this year. They said this was contingent, however, on the construction of key infrastructure projects.
Asked about his thoughts on how to help some tourism destinations in Lanao del Sur, Paragas said, “Lanao Lake is very, very beautiful. I want a floating dock system placed there.”
Aside from Lanao Lake, other interesting tourism sites in the province include Mabul Beach, Iga-Bai waterfalls, houses of Maranao royalty called torogan, and Barurao Springs, to name a few.
This developed as the DOT hailed the liberation of Marawi from Islamist separatist elements, announced recently by President Duterte.
“We salute and pay homage to the troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), particularly to those 163 heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of Marawi,” said Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo in a news statement.
“Our government has proven that it can contain and eliminate any threat to peace and order, and ensure that the country remains a safe place to live and visit,” she added.
The tourism secretary appealed to the public to support the government’s “recovery and rehabilitation program to restore Marawi City’s vibrant economy, business and livelihood; its reputable educational institutions; hospitals and medical clinics; and other public services.”
She stressed that the greater challenge was to “[win] the hearts of our Filipino Muslim brothers not only in Marawi City but the whole of Mindanao…as we work together to bring back the splendor of the great Islamic City of Marawi.”