Mark of a Lapid

As a proud Filipino, I truly believe that it’s really “More Fun in the Philippines,”– that is until you get bitch slapped with the P1620 Travel Tax whenever you leave the country to find a place for comparison.

It’s not much, if you are travelling on your own or just with your significant other, but when you are with your entire family that P1620 quickly adds up to almost an entire month’s salary– and you haven’t even boarded that delayed flight of yours, which you probably got for less.

Apparently, 50 percent of that amount goes to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), 40 percent goes to the Commission on Higher Education (scholars) and 10 percent t to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

I don’t know who the scholars are, or if the NCCA is actually using these fund to add to its time deposits . but at least those funds are helping TIEZA in its efforts to bring in more tourists…

According to the TOURISM WEBSITE 
Inbound tourist arrivals for January to September 2015 aggregated to 3,983,627, 10.76% higher than 2014 arrivals of 3,596,523. The month of September provided 393,589 arrivals with a 19.64% increase over the same month of 2014 at 328,981 arrivals. It could be noted that this year’s September arrivals recorded a very significant growth and substantial volume compared to the previous four years which ranged from 285 thousand to 328 thousand. Moreover, consistent double-digit gains were recorded from July to September with September recording the highest growth while July registered the biggest arrivals of 489,724.
Earnings generated from tourism activities for the first nine months of 2015 grew by 6.99%, accumulating to Php 168.75 billion from the Php 157.73 billion recorded last year.
For September alone, visitor receipts amounted to Php 16.56 billion which is 24.24% higher than the previous year’s earnings of Php 13.33 billion. For the third consecutive months, from July to September 2015, visitor receipts posted double-digit gain, with September posting the highest growth.

A couple of weeks ago, our group of bloggers shared an evening of great food (courtesy of Locavore) and worthwhile conversations with former TIEZA Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid, who shared his frank and sometimes candid thoughts about some of the laws affecting the Tourism Industry and how he plans to update it if he does win a Senate seat.

It’s no surprise that his platform would center around Tourism as he had been working for the tourism department since he became General Manager/COO of the Philippine Tourism Authority in 2008 which became the TIEZA in 2009.

“I believe tourism can be one of our country’s biggest sources of income besides our OFWs and the BPO industry. Tourism creates jobs, it creates livelihood and it can help drive the economy,” Mark began.

Using the USA, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom as an example, Lapid said these highly-developed all have well-established tourism programs and landed in the list of most-visited countries by foreign tourists. “These countries have been earning $36 billion to $56 billion a year from the money spent by foreign tourists—figures which are double or more than double of the OFW remittances and BPO revenues combined.”(Last year, OFW remittances posted an all-time high of $24.3 billion while revenues from the BPO on the same year were pegged at $18.4 billion.)
“I know the importance of tourism in economic development. This brings huge sum of money, this creates business, and this creates jobs. May malaking kinabukasan sa turismo, dahil sa turismo may trabaho,” said the former actor-turned politician.

“When people talk about tourism they often talk about our beaches, our churches and our natural attractions. But if we look at it, we can also focus on medical tourism, Educational tourism, and even sports tourism (with their partnerships in our sports teams and NBA events). Our country, I think has a big potential to be an Agri Tourism destination, with our organic farms” he noted.

Lapid believes his latest project, “Cruise Tourism,” can also create a lot more sustainable jobs for Pinoys. Cruise Tourism has already started in Hundred Island, Boracay Island, Manila, Cebu, Kalanggaman Island in Leyte and soon in other top spots in the country.

“We just need to make sure that we have the right facilities to promote and enhance it.” “From where we started in 2011 I’m proud of the things we started and achieved, and we tried our best to achieve our target of 10M tourists.”

Among his worthwhile achievements included cleanup of Boracay, Davao Airport relocation, installing hyperbaric chamber for diving centers in Cebu and approving the Philippine Arena as a tourism enterprise zone.

When asked what laws will he be prioritizing, Mark immediately mentioned amending laws that would further boost Tourism such as RA 9593 or the The Tourism Act of 2009.” He said he wants to look into the incentives law to bring in more investors. Another is the Law Free legal Assistance which his father Lito Lapid authored and the “No Bio No Boto” implementation to uphold the integrity of the electoral system. He also says he will support the Freedom of Information Bill and Anti Dynasty Bill—in whatever form once it gets approved.

Mark said he applied to get a slot in the administration party led by Liberal Party’s Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo because of their vision to “Ipagpatuloy ang Daang Matuwid.”

Mark earned the distinction as the youngest elected provincial chief executive of the country who, at twenty five, went on to steer the Province of Pampanga into one of the top ten performing provinces of the country. His youthful dynamism, remarkable governance and leadership brought about notable achievements which distinguished Pampanga in the field of Tourism, Trade and Investments.

Barely a year after being appointed as General Manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) or in December 2009, the PTA was given by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) a “GAWAD PAMPUBLIKONG KORPORASYON” in testimony of the institution that articulates the values of creativity and excellence through public-private sector partnership. Moreover, PTA was cited as the first government corporation to have successfully awarded and concluded a Joint Venture Agreement with the private sector in accordance with the 2008 JV Guidelines of NEDA.
Led the transition of PTA into the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA). TIEZA’s organizational transformation is evidenced by the ISO 9001-2008 certification issued by TUV Rheinland in May this year.

Just within months from the approval of the implementing guidelines for the establishment of tourism enterprise zones, TIEZA approved projects worth over P50 billion that will create around 100,000 jobs from construction to operation.

Can this Lapid also make a “Mark” in the Senate like his father Lito who served the upper house for the last 12 years?

The elder Lapid has been among the most prolific senators. In 2014, he filed 219 bills, the 4th highest next to Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Jinggoy Estrada, and Antonio Trillanes IV.

“I think I am a better version of my dad because of the education he has provided me. When I told him I was running for the Senate, he gladly gave me his endorsement. Ang payo lang nya ay “Magpakatotoo ako” and “ibigay ko ang lahat sa pagseserbisyo sa taong bayan.”