Group to PNoy: Do away with Arroyo, focus on tourism too

One year into his term, President Benigno Aquino III should do away with taking pot shots at the previous administration and focus on strengthening sectors that could bring money into the country, like tourism. Since Aquino assumed his post in June 2010, his administration has been trying to unearth irregularities supposedly committed during the Arroyo administration, said Ivan Henares, vice president of the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS). The HCS is a non-profit organization advocating the protection and preservation of Philippine heritage, cultural and historical sites and settings. Critics of the Aquino administration are claiming that the Palace is supposedly behind the recent exposes of high-profile whistleblowers for irregularities under the Arroyo administration. Among the whistleblowers are former Maguindanao poll official Lintang Bedol and murder suspect Rizaldy "Zaldy" Ampatuan the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. "I don't want to hear GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] anymore. Start focusing on his term. He should already stop lambasting the previous administration," Henares said in a forum at the Miriam College in Quezon City. "Does he have problems with the past administration? Let the courts deal with that. He should be rallying the Philippines towards a better country," he said. Arroyo is currently the subject of several plunder charges filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, right after its former head, Merceditas Gutierrez — an Arroyo appointee — vacated her post. The Aquino administration has not made any concrete accomplishments in its first year in office Henares said. Turn things around He cited the bungled "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" tourism campaign under Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim. Crafted to replace the WOW Philippines slogan, Pilipinas Kay Ganda was ultimately scrapped due to public outrage over the fact that it was allegedly copied from the tourism campaign of Poland. "There's no problem replacing a brand, basta mas maganda ang ipapalit at basta may budget," he said, stressing the need for Aquino to pour more budget into the Department of Tourism (DOT).

However, Henares remained hopeful that the DOT's recent commitment to promote cultural tourism in the Philippines could turn things around for the country's tourism sector, adding that he hopes Aquino would elaborate on this when he delivers his State of the Nation Address next Monday. "Sa atin, it's always beaches and shopping... But when you visit other countries, it's their culture they use to promote tourism," Henares said. So far the tourism sector has yet to come up with anything substantial in connection with recent efforts to promote the Philippine heritage as a driving force for tourism, Henares noted, saying that the agency is still focused on making policies and plans. "That is laudable. But if by the second year, wala pa silang mailabas na concrete, that's already bad. How long will it take you to plan?" he said. — VS, GMA News