Durano asked to explain expulsion of group from Tourism Congress

MANILA, Philippines - A group of leading professional event and exhibition organizers has asked Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano to explain why it was eased out of the recent Tourism Congress.

Marissa Nallana, Philippine Association of Convention Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers, Inc. (PACEOS) president, said the Tourism Act mandates that representatives of all accredited tourism enterprises are members of the Tourism Congress.

While there are over 1,360 members of the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. (PCVC), only 58 or four percent were chosen and invited in the first Tourism Congress held last Nov. 25, 2009, she added.

PACEOS is a member of the PCVC.

In her letter to Durano, dated Jan. 11, Nallana said that under the new law, the sector is represented in the Tourism Promotions Board by having a seat allocated to the “conventions and exhibitions services and suppliers.”

“If the Tourism Promotions Board succeeded the PCVC’s assets and obligations, then it must have succeeded to the obligation to respect the membership therein,” she said.

Nallana said under the implementing rules, however, this was changed to include “meetings, events and incentive travel.”

“We seek your guidance because all the other sectors mentioned are involved in meetings, events and incentive travel,” she said.

Nallana said the Tourism Act presents a great opportunity to finally galvanize and mobilize the full potential of our industry.

“We are hesitant to surge forward for fear of violating the letter and intent of the law and are concerned that the opportunity for us to be involved in charting the destiny of the industry will be lost,” she said.

“We request for your leadership in clarifying all these issues, to reconcile the implementing rules with the law, so the confusion that is now escalating within the industry can be quelled and a vision properly articulated for the future of the industry and the country.”

Critics claimed that the law’s implementing rules and regulations have caused divisions within the industry due to “overlapping and duplicating functions.”

Officials of the Federation of Tourism Industries earlier said they are filing a lawsuit to void the IRR.   – Helen Flores