November 17, 2008
Malaya
Nueva Ecija GovAurelio Umali denied Sunday that he snubbed the opening of the three-day North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo 2008 at Clark Freeport Zone Friday afternoon, saying a previous commitment was the real reason why he, together with six provincial governors, including host Gov. Eduardo Panlilio, were absent.
“I sent my representative, may nauna kasi akong natanguan,” Umali said.
Deputy Presidential spokesperson and presidential assistant for Central Luzon Lorelei Fajardo, also a Novo Ecijano like Umali, and the event’s guest speaker, stressed that the event would help raise awareness of the best areas North Philippines can offer in terms of tourist destinations, products and services.
Organizers and participants criticized the absence of the governors. They said this attitude explains why the region ranks only seventh among the 16 regions nationwide in terms of tourism competitiveness despite its being the home region of President Arroyo and the new Philippine Tourism Authority general manager Mark Lapid, and the presence of Subic and Clark and other tourism magnets.
Aside from Umali and Panlilio, also absent at the affair were Amor Deloso of Zambales, Jonjon Mendoza of Bulacan, Victor Yap of Tarlac and the suspended Enrique Garcia of Bataan.
It was only Aurora governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo who came all the way from her remote hometown of Baler some 250 kilometers away for the expo which gathered together tourism officers from Region 1, 2, 3 and the Cordilleras.
In previous tourism activities, Angara-Castillo was reportedly the only one to bother, with her counterparts preferring to skip the events. The lady governor, who declined to comment on the other governors’ absence, has made tourism a cornerstone of her development agenda codenamed HEALTH which stands for health, education, agriculture, livelihood, tourism and human resource development.
She said she makes it a point to show up in such events because she wants her province to become known not only as a surfing and dive site but also a tourism haven. She said Aurora has even set up a satellite office in Clark to serve as one-stop shop of information for tourists and prospective investors. – Jojo de Guzman
Malaya
Nueva Ecija GovAurelio Umali denied Sunday that he snubbed the opening of the three-day North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo 2008 at Clark Freeport Zone Friday afternoon, saying a previous commitment was the real reason why he, together with six provincial governors, including host Gov. Eduardo Panlilio, were absent.
“I sent my representative, may nauna kasi akong natanguan,” Umali said.
Deputy Presidential spokesperson and presidential assistant for Central Luzon Lorelei Fajardo, also a Novo Ecijano like Umali, and the event’s guest speaker, stressed that the event would help raise awareness of the best areas North Philippines can offer in terms of tourist destinations, products and services.
Organizers and participants criticized the absence of the governors. They said this attitude explains why the region ranks only seventh among the 16 regions nationwide in terms of tourism competitiveness despite its being the home region of President Arroyo and the new Philippine Tourism Authority general manager Mark Lapid, and the presence of Subic and Clark and other tourism magnets.
Aside from Umali and Panlilio, also absent at the affair were Amor Deloso of Zambales, Jonjon Mendoza of Bulacan, Victor Yap of Tarlac and the suspended Enrique Garcia of Bataan.
It was only Aurora governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo who came all the way from her remote hometown of Baler some 250 kilometers away for the expo which gathered together tourism officers from Region 1, 2, 3 and the Cordilleras.
In previous tourism activities, Angara-Castillo was reportedly the only one to bother, with her counterparts preferring to skip the events. The lady governor, who declined to comment on the other governors’ absence, has made tourism a cornerstone of her development agenda codenamed HEALTH which stands for health, education, agriculture, livelihood, tourism and human resource development.
She said she makes it a point to show up in such events because she wants her province to become known not only as a surfing and dive site but also a tourism haven. She said Aurora has even set up a satellite office in Clark to serve as one-stop shop of information for tourists and prospective investors. – Jojo de Guzman
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