One of the recent headline of the news is quite intriguing and very disappointing. I just can’t resist myself to write this post because it really is deterring being a blogger that aims to publicize Iloilo to the World as a keen tourism destination in the Philippines. For your perusal i’ll quote some bits of the news.
THE Department of Tourism (DoT) and a tourist bus operator slammed traffic managers in Iloilo City for being “unfriendly” to the tourism sector.
DOT regional director Edwin Trompeta riled at the deliberate refusal of the Traffic Technical Working Group (TTWG) and Traffic Management and Engineering Unit (TMEU) to allow a tourist bus to enter the city and fetch a group of tourism officers. read more…
I think tourist buses and coaches must be given much exemptions in the perimeter boundary ordinance (PBO). These buses do not ply the city roads as often as those with ordinary passenger vehicles. DOT 6 Regional Director, Mr. Trompeta said, the city has been spending millions of pesos just to advertise Iloilo as a tourism haven and yet you are barring tourist buses to enter the city? What an irony of things here. I myself is now diffident to create more articles and feature the craft of Iloilo to entice visitors when even some of the people in the city government are just taking for granted local tourism. I think the city council must amend this ordinance in favor of the local tourism. We are loosing much when these things continue to happen. Where in the planet could you see a touring group has been disembarked from their convenient tour buses and ride a public jeepney just because the city ordinance (PBO) is barring their coaches to enter the city? Isn’t that a rare unfriendly to the tourists? and visitors for that matter? It is a very grossing out experience for a visitor who expects to be important as a tourist in our city.
Anyhow, I think Mayor Treñas and the city council are keen enough in dealing with this issue. Let’s just wait and see what would be their actions on this. This PBO has allayed the congested traffic in the city but has affected the operations of the local tourism, one aggravated party was Philvisa. Amendment is badly needed. I truly wish that this city would be tourism and business friendly.
Additional:
This has long been an issue but they tend to play blind on this. Why won’t the stricter implementations of PBO focused on the jeepneys that are making the loading/unloading areas their terminal? I don’t know if this has been stated in the PBO and if not the city council must focus on this because these hard-headed “tsuper” are the ones creating a congested traffic in the city and not the few tourist bus/ bus with tourists do. I’ve read how Mr. Plagata the chairman of the City Task Force on Traffic (CTFT) insisted the difference between a tourist bus (accredited by DOT) and the bus with tourists (ordinary buses used in tours). I suggest that if they are not permitting these buses with tourists to enter the city then they must give exemptions to ordinary buses that has legitimate tourists/visitors in it by giving especial permits.
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