Waterless tourism areas get $39.8 M from gov't

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government said today that it is spending P1.73 billion ($39.8 million) to provide water in waterless tourist spots in the country.

The Department of Budget and Management said it released the amount to fund the Tourism Water Supply Infrastructure Program, which will be implemented by the Departments of Tourism and Public Works and Highways.

"Providing water supply and sanitation facilities would be crucial in enriching tourism growth and development in (our) tourist destinations," said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in a statement.

Abad said these tourist destinations, some of which can be found in the poorest regions in the country, have been waterless for years.

He said the cities of San Carlos in central Philippines and Dapitan in southern Philippines lead the list of "priority implementation areas." The two cities were allotted 138.6 million pesos (3.18 million U.S. dollars) each.

The government of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III is banking on tourism to prop up the country's economy. The government has set a target of 6.8 million foreign tourist arrivals this year.