Category Archive for: komentaryo

komentaryo

Terrible tourism

The Department of Tourism (DoT), under Wanda Tulfo Teo, is a gift that keeps on giving.

We all of course know how Teo tried to deny what she said in an interview on CNN Philippines, where she not only confirmed that the Nickolodeon project would push through in Coron Palawan, she also revealed that she was all for it because she was promised that the corals would not be affected.

Never mind that common sense tells us that any kind of development that will put a floating structure over the waters, or any development on land in fact, would affect the ecology of places like Coron. Never mind that we have seen how developments on land have adversely affected the waters in places like Boracay. Never mind that it only takes a Google search to realize that these planned developments are absolutely nothing to be excited about.

Ah, but Mrs. Teo was excited. Asked about the Nickolodeon project, she said: “They showed us the map.  It’s very big, it’s very big, and they’re also developing that area, in the land area, condos and hotels. It’s very lucky, very nice, it will be a theme park, so many developments.” (CNN Philippines, 1 June)

This was strike one. (more…)

komentaryo

A portrait of a Tourism Secretary as failure

For almost a year now we have listened to a Department of Tourism (DOT) with a Secretary Wanda Tulfo Teo, that has no vision, no gameplan, no clear sense of what tourism is even supposed to be about, given the state of the nation.

You listen to Teo speaking with Pinky Webb on CNN Philippines and you realize she still knows absolutely nothing a year into her job. All she has as far as a tourism plan is concerned is an excitement about the investments that are coming in from China, and the interest in having international beauty pageants in the Philippines again and again.

Neither of those two things is what a sustainable, pro-people, environmental tourism plan makes. But what would someone with no credentials know?

The only two qualifications of Mrs. Teo to become DOT Secretary: (1) she owned a travel agency for Mt. Apo hikers which meant inevitably contributing to the degradation of this protected area, and (2) she’s a Tulfo. (more…)

komentaryo

Andanar sa PCO: Isang kasaysayan ng kapalpakan (2)

When 2017 started, Martin Andanar was on his seventh month in the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

The Communications secretary wanted to welcome the year with a bang, so he decided to listen to pro-government troll discourse and be afraid of a yahoogroup. You got that right. A yahoogroup. In the year 2017. For what to him was a “national issue” involving the names of Filipinos in America and a staff member of VP Leni’s office, in purported conversation that was not only using a yahoogroup in the time of Viber and Telegram, but also apparently, a yahoogroup that could so easily be accessed or hacked.

This piece of “news” about a destabilization plot came from what we now know to be fake news sources, as fueled by pro-Duterte troll discourse. It is decidedly blind, it is fiction-writing based on the flimsiest of sources if not totally without basis. And the Communications Secretary was believing it, hook line sinker.  (more…)

komentaryo

Andanar sa PCO: Isang kasaysayan ng kapalpakan (1)

Walang paglagyan ang disgusto at galit sa ipinalabas na video ng Presidential Communications Office (PCO) nitong May 31.

And then you realize that this is also absolutely no surprise. Under Martin Andanar, I went from being hopeful about the PCO (not once, but twice!), to utterly and absolutely dismayed and disgusted by the lack of vision, intelligence, smarts, and all-around common sense.

Early into this government, say August 2016, the policy seemed to be radio silence. I thought it was just Andanar trying to figure out what to do, two months in. At the same time, he needed to rise to the occasion of someone like President Duterte, who hit the ground running. Or whose mouth was — is — faster than his brain.  (more…)

komentaryo

The Senate disappoints #MartialLaw

Lost all of Tuesday this week to the Senate.

The day started with news of Senate Resolution 388 affirming and supporting Martial Law as declared in all of Mindanao by President Duterte. What we knew was that 15 Senators were signing the resolution, excluding the Senate minority of five people – Bam Aquino, Franklin Drilon, Risa Hontiveros, Kiko Pangilinan, and Antonio Trillanes – and Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero whose names weren’t on the released copy of the resolution.    (more…)