Solon raps Gemma for 'alibi' on tourism

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya - "An alibi."

This is how Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla (LDP) described yesterday the claim of Tourism Secretary Gemma Cruz-Araneta that the ongoing Mindanao conflict had, adversely affected the country's tourism industry.

Padilla stated that Araneta's claim was a "mere alibi to camouflage the incompetence of her department to formulate programs that could steer the declining tourism industry in the country."

Padilla stressed that even before the Mindanao conflict began, tourist arrivals were already at a very dismal state compared to neighboring countries with generally the same problems.

"It's not proper for the good secretary to blame the ongoing crisis in Mindanao for her department's incompetence to attract more tourists," he said.

The solon recalled that Araneta had also used the Asian financial crisis as an alibi for the dearth of tourist arrivals. But Thailand, where the so-called "Asian financial flu" started and which was badly hit by it, had a tourist arrival of seven million compared to the Philippines' 2.2 million in 1999.

Padilla also blamed Araneta for not doing anything to avert the decline of Taiwanese visitors as a result of the airline problem between the country and Taiwan. He said that only 143,810 visitors came from that country despite the more than a million airline seats then available from that island state.