Cabinet men, tycoons get MOPC awards for tourism

MANILA, Philippines — Three Cabinet secretaries and several business tycoons were awarded by the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) for their significant contributions to the growth of tourism in the Philippines.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and Housing Secretary Jerry Acuzar, along with Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, were recognized for their work in promoting tourism.

Both Diokno and Salceda received the Special Grand Tourism Award, while Bautista was recognized with a Special Tourism Grand Award Citation. Acuzar, who owns the Las Casas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan, bagged the Heritage Tourism Award.

Tycoons Ramon Ang, Tessie Sy Coson, Kevin Tan and Lance Gokongwei as well as the Gotianun family and the Zobel de Ayala clan were also awarded for making significant contributions to the country’s tourism growth.

Cebu Pacific, which Gokongwei leads, was named Airline of the Year. CebuPac is the Philippines’ most successful low-cost carrier and the country’s largest airline with a local market share of 57 percent in 2022 or 14.8 million total passengers.

Globe’s e-wallet app GCash, led by chief executive officer Martha Sazon, and PLDT-Smart, led by CEO Al Panlilio, received the Mobility and Financial Inclusion Award.

Newport World Resorts, led by Kevin Tan as chairman and Kingson Sian as CEO, was named Tourism Developer of the Year.

The Ang-led San Miguel Corp., Ayala Corp., and SM Investments Corp. took home the MOPC Grand Tourism Award.

Also recognized were the 87-year-old Aristocrat Restaurant, led by chair and president Raymund Reyes, which was named Restaurant of the Year; St. Luke’s Medical Center as the Medical Tourism Enterprise of the Year; and the Fairmont Makati and Raffles Makati, led by Bernd Schneider, as Hotel of the Year.

The Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay was awarded the Resort of the Year Award while the El Nido Resorts was recognized as the Community-Based Tourism Champion of the Year.

Given the OFW Advocacy Award was party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino for her works on seeking the protection and benefits for overseas Filipino workers. Nantha Kumar, general manager of Rosewood Hotel Group’s New World Makati Hotel, was named Hotel GM of the Year.

The MOPC Grand Tourism Awards was held at the Fairmont and Raffles Hotel ballroom on Thursday. It recognizes the significant contributions of the awardees to the tourism industry, which has been a vital part of the country’s economy, providing millions of jobs and generating billions in revenue.

Medical tourism

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has started identifying tourist spots in the country where health care facilities are to be established.

“Under our program on medical tourism, we were able to identify initially, three tourist areas where health centers will be built starting next year,” said DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire at a recent press briefing. “Super health centers will soon rise in these tourist areas that we have identified. We will be working closely with other agencies so that we can erect (health) facilities there.”

She added “these health centers will accommodate not only foreign visitors in the country but will also provide local communities access to this kind of health services.”

Vergeire explained that the health facilities enhancement program is aimed to improve public health facilities by constructing new and upgrading or rehabilitating existing public health facilities across the country. These facilities include barangay health stations, rural or urban health centers and local government hospitals.

Earlier, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) urged the national government to make sure that the planned building of new specialty hospitals won’t become redundant.

PHAPI president Dr. Jose Rene De Grano said, “We know that building specialty hospitals is part of the Universal Health Care but there are areas wherein private hospitals are capable of giving similar service. We should consider where these specialty hospitals should be established.”

He added that major provinces and cities outside Metro Manila usually have large private hospitals that can offer specialized medical services, among others. — Rhodina Villanueva