On the DOT
Atty. Helen J. Camarista

After Kabugana-an and Phil-Spain Friendship Day, what?

The much-publicized Kabugana-an sang Western Visayas sa Intramuros (The Best of Western Visayas in Intramuros, June 14-28, 2005) and Philippine-Spain Friendship Day (June 29-30, 2005) are over. Now what? Let's congratulate the organizers and participants of these two memorable events. We hope some things bigger would result from these two big happenings. I was in Intramuros for the Kabugana-an preparations and special events starting June 12 to June 21.

I had to fly out of Manila to Tacloban City, Leyte very early in the morning July 22 to catch up with the opening of the 3-day (June 22-24) 6 th Visayaswide Annual Convention of Resident Ombudsmen as President of the Association of Resident Ombudsmen of Region 6 (ARO 6) and head of the 29-person Western Visayas delegation. I was actually inducted into office together with other ARO 6 officers by the Ombudsman himself, the Honorable Tanodbayan Simeon Marcelo, during the Fellowship Night on June 23.

The whole convention centered on discussions about the new government procurement system and the role of the Resident Ombudsman in corruption prevention activities, requests for assistance, data gathering on and investigation of cases filed with and referred by the Office of the Ombudsman . Tanodbayan Marcelo then and there resolved the issue posed by the Resident Ombudsmen on whether or not Resident Ombudsmen could sit as Chair, Vice Chair or member, as the case maybe, of the Bids and awards Committee of their respective offices.

I'm glad I was right all along to have requested my boss, RD Edwin Trompeta, to relieve and change me as Vice-Chair of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) as I saw conflict of interest in my roles as Resident Ombudsman and BAC vice-chair of the Department of Tourism 6 at the same time. Tanodbayan Marcelo said, indeed, there is conflict of interest in these roles.

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Multi-event competition

The European Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman have launched a multi-event competition with the theme: “Building a culture of integrity and excellence.” This competition is composed of On-the Spot-Poster Making, Essay Writing and Slogan Making contests. Submission of entries shall be from July 15-September 30, 2005 for the Essay Writing and Slogan Making contests while the date and venue of the On-the Spot Poster Making contest will be announced by the Office of the Ombudsman soon. The contests shall be open to all bona fide high school and college students in the Philippines, officials and employees of national government agencies, local government units and government owned and controlled corporations. Employees from the private sector and other private individuals are also qualified to join the contests. More than Php 260,000.00 await winners of the three contest categories.

For more details and participation forms, interested parties may contact this writer at the Department of Tourism Region VI, Iloilo City Tel. No. 3375411 and Faxphone No/335 02 45.

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Regional launch of STOP and Philippines' TURISTA

The office of USEC Salvador Sarabia Jr., Undersecretary for Security and Political Affairs of the Department of Tourism has scheduled regional press launches of STOP and Philippines' TURISTA projects this July. That for Iloilo is on July 20.

STOP stands for Security of Tourists Operation Program. It is a nationwide tactical work program to assure foreign and local tourists that the Philippine Government is capable to cope with natural and man-made disasters by strengthening the implementation of disaster programs. It aims to enhance the capabilities of tourism stakeholders in managing disasters and security threats in order to predict, mitigate, plan for and cope with the effects of the damages caused; intensify the vigilance of the community by conducting lectures, orientations, workshops, visual presentations etc; and provide assistance to the victims and help rehabilitate the community.

TURISTA is an acronym for The Universal Recognition in the Security of Tourists Awards. It is a nationwide campaign to recognize outstanding involvement on tourist safety and security of Philippine tourist destinations of individuals, private corporations, local government units and foreign embassies. It aims to improve relationships with the different sectors in the community especially the tourism industry in order to improve their awareness on disasters and security; establish linkages with other government agencies particularly the military and the police in order to involve them more in the security of our local attractions and safety of tourists; and improve the image of the Philippines by projecting an image as one of Asia's safest destinations.