𝗗𝗢𝗧’𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗼’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗲𝘀

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco led the culmination of the “Bayanihan sa Bukas na may Pag-Asa sa Turismo (BBMT)” Alternative Livelihood Training program on Monday (Oct. 23) at the Balai Mindoro Convention Center, which trained over 1,300 oil spill affected tourism workers in the province.

This event, along with the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, recognized the resilience and unity of the province’s tourism workers who were affected by concerns brought about by the oil spill crisis.

Secretary Frasco together with Oriental Mindoro Governor Hurmelito “Bonz” Dolor and Vice Governor Ejay Falcon, led the distribution of certificates to representatives of 31 Community-Based Sustainable Tourism Organizations (CBSTOs) across various cities and municipalities of the province, as a way to honor the organizations’ members who have successfully completed the BBMT.

132 Start-Up Kits for Beadwork and Lei Making Training were also distributed to the City of Calapan and the Municipality of San Teodoro.

On the sidelines of the event, the tourism chief also surprised the tour guides of the region by giving out tour guiding kits which include essentials such as a wireless lapel microphone, sunscreen, hat, notebook, ballpen, and tumbler that will aid them in their work.

“𝘕𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘬𝘰 𝘱𝘰 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘢 𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭,” said Secretary Frasco in her speech.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘖𝘛 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰,” she added.

Earlier this year, the MT Princess Empress oil tanker sank off the coast of Tablas Strait in Balingwan Point, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, causing severe damage to the marine environments in the province and neighboring areas. This also sorely affected the livelihoods of the component cities and municipalities of the province that depend on tourism.

The DOT recognized the urgency of providing immediate assistance during the crisis, thus, the BBMT was conceptualized to give a series of alternative livelihood training programs specifically designed for CBSTOs and tourism workers affected by the oil spill. The training programs sought to equip participants with new skills and open up new avenues for income generation for the workers amid the oil spill crisis. The said training sessions ran from April 24 until June 27.

“𝘐𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘖𝘛, 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯. 𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦,” Jasmine Quirubin, President of the Malubay Eco-Tourism Association said, one of the recipients of both the BBMT and TUPAD programs.

The BBMT training series encompassed sessions in Farm Tourism: Urban Farming, Tourism Micro Retail: Beadwork and Lei Making, Food Tourism: Kulinarya Training, Health and Wellness Tourism: Hilot Training, and Basic Haircutting Training.

𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗧𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗗

Aside from alternative livelihood training programs, the DOT and the DOLE have agreed to extend the labor department’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program to the oil spill-affected workers, a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers.

A total of 547 beneficiaries received financial assistance from the TUPAD program amounting to 3,550 pesos each, 154 of whom hail from the Municipality of Gloria and were recognized during the event.

Prior to the event, tourism workers from Calapan City and the municipalities of Roxas, Mansalay, and Naujan already received the financial grants while the municipalities of Pola, Pinamalayan, and Bulalacao are currently implementing the TUPAD Program and expected to have its schedule of payout by early November.

𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀

A popular destination for snorkeling and diving, Oriental Mindoro is known for its beaches and falls that capture the natural beauty of the province such as the White Beach and Tamaraw Falls in Puerto Galera, as well as the cultural richness present in the different indigenous groups in the province such as the Mangyan.

As of October 18, the province recorded 334,588 tourist arrivals, generating over Php 3.5 Billion in visitor receipts thus far.

The tourism chief invited guests to visit and experience the beautiful province of Oriental Mindoro, which has shown resilience amid the oil-spill crisis it has gone through.

“𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴, ‘𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰 ‘𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮,” Secretary Frasco enthused.

The tourism chief also reported that there are two major projects set for Oriental Mindoro which include the construction of a tourist rest area and the putting up of a hyperbaric chamber for the thriving dive destination.

“The best thing now is that they [tourism workers] put not only the knowledge but also the assistance from DOT to practice. They have increased already their income, and the alternative livelihood training given by the DOT and the Department of Labor [and Employment] has produced more graduates, more employment, more income to revitalize the tourism industry,” Governor Dolor added, emphasizing the vital role the DOT has played in aiding the oil spill affected tourism workers.