Salceda, hindi hihingin ang pagbibitiw ng Tourism secretary

ITO ANG tinuring ni House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay) kasunod na rin sa mga panawagan na magbitiw sa puwesto si Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco bunsod na rin sa naging kapalpakan sa launching ng bagong campaign video ng ahensiya.

Sa halip aniya ay dapat pagtuunan ng pansin ang gagawing hakbang para sa hinaharap ng turismo ng bansa.

“I asked her to fire the consultant. She did. I asked her to correct mistakes and investigate internally. She did. I asked her to be more inclusive with destinations featured. She did. When we resume session in Congress, we will seek facts. She is open. We can disagree without malice,” pahayag pa ni Salceda.

Bahagi aniya ng tungkulin bilang mambabatas at representante ng publiko na pumuna kung kinakailangan ngunit pagkatapos ng mainitang diskusyon ay kailangang manatili ang atensiyon sa pagresolba sa problema.

“And once the controversy about this rebranding effort passes, we will still need to fix our airports, our accommodations, our accessibility. So, no, I will not join calls for her to resign. Certainly not when a lot of it is premised on speculation. I focused on facts in my criticisms. I want to focus on facts on the solutions,” giit ng mambabatas.

Handa rin aniya itong tumulong sa kalihim kasabay nang panawagan na lahat na tumulong din sa tursimo.

“Albay will help her. I offer to her my personal experience as former Governor of Albay, when we grew foreign tourist arrivals by 4,700 percent, and became the country’s rising tourism star. Albay has 1.32 tourists per resident, pre-pandemic, higher than the 0.57 per resident number nationally. It’s one of the best – if not the best, pound-for-pound,” dagdag ni Salceda.

Noong gobernado pa si Salceda ay nabigyan ito ng unang Tourism Star award ng Department of Tourism noong in 2015 sa pagsusumikap nitong gawing pangunahing tourist destination ang Albay. Nabigyan din ito ng Special Grand Tourism Award ng Manila Overseas Press Club.

“I also want to work with her on the Bicol International Airport, and other issues. Let’s move forward,” pagtatapos ni Salceda. (BISHOP JESUS “JEMBA” M. BASCO)