The Presiding Officer Hon. Vice Mayor Jesus A.

Baranda…Lady and Gentleman Members

of this Sanggunian…my pleasant greetings…

I was caught startled when the Honorable Mayor cited my name to be his designated
personnel as Tourism Officer of our municipality...during our pre-conference before we
headed to Cebu for our ELA formulation workshop….That feeling of alarm,was, because,
the idea and concept of tourism is not my cup of tea, unlike Human Resource Management,
that is, due to the numerous trainings and capability interventions that I underwent….I
thought my presence was needed that time to stand-in my immediate supervisor, who is
the newly-designated PESO Manager. But, the voice from the highest official of the land
denotes an order, a command which ought to be observed and obeyed….So, without any
word, I heeded to the order and worked at the workshop bearing with me, two subsectors,
Tourism and Labor and Employment. And now, I stand before you today accompanied by
an Executive Order duly signed by the Local Chief Executive designating this humble civil
servant to be the Municipal Tourism Officer.

As per communication from this reputable office, the presence of this representation is
enjoined here today to present my initial plans relative to the new office I am assigned in,
and to answer queries regarding tourism development. First, I’d be glad to present to you
the output of the Executive-Legislative Agenda which we jointly formulated.

Under Tourism, which is a sub-sector of the Economic Sector, we have identified ten(10)
policy options and was ranked according to its urgency.

Establishment of Municipal Park from Corner of St. Isidore Street and the National Hiway
through Corner of St. Isidore Street and Tarragona Street. This is a passive park, meaning,
is a park that is principally designed for use in an unstructured or informal way. A Passive
park is typcially less developed than an active park, but may contain features such as
walking tracks, gardens, seating, barbecues, picnic areas, etc. This ranked number one in
the urgency test because this was one of the executive agenda or priority projects of the
executive department as presented in the workshop. About budgetary requirements for this
proposed project, according to exchange of ideas and queries with two engineers, Engr.
Lumpas and Engr. Lazar, the project would need to be funded with an amount of 18
million pesos; 5M for 2023, 6.5 for the next 2 years …The project would be a collaborative
effort of the MO, MEO, TourismOffice and the Legislative Office. The project will be
solely funded by our local finance.

Organize a Municipal Tourism Council and pro-activate its members. There is a need for
us to identify and to recognize an effective and efficient composition of our Local Tourism
Council. Let us be reminded that the Tourism Council needs balance representations both
from the government and private sectors. We need to identify tourism-related licensed
establishments with business permits so that they will have equal representation in the
council, as well as, Civil Society Organizations, in which, this august body is tasked to
identify and give accreditation. Once our Municipal Tourism Council is put in place, we
must think of ways and means to get them involved in whatever activites the municipality
will do…to make them stick to their tasks as representative when it pertains to our
municipality’s tourism status. One important activity is the identification of potential
tourism sites.

Formulation of Tourism Development Plan. The tourism industry benefits if planning

becomes a multi-sectoral collaboration, involving various stakeholders in our locality.
Ideally, a Tourism Planning Committee (TPC) should be created under the Local
Development Council (LDC), the LGU’s mandated planning body, to ensure that the plan
is adopted. The local legislative body or the Sanggunian, should also be represented early
on in the planning process to help secure the plan’s approval. The LGU has to ensure that
women are well represented in the team. The Tourism Council, in particular plays a crucial
role in shaping local tourism and should be part of the committee. Box 1 defi nes the
important role of the tourism council in the sector’s development. I have here a list of
suggested representatives to compose a functional and fruitful Tourism Plannning
Committee.

• Local Chief Executive

• Tourism Council (private sector representative)

• Tourism Offi cer

• Local planning and development coordinator (LPDC)

• Sangunnian Chairperson for tourism development

• Local agriculturist (if the LGU plans on venturing into farm tourism)

• People’s Organization working in tourism areas

• Women’s organization involved in tourism

• Non-government organization (NGO) working in tourism

• Barangay Captains of barangays with tourism attractions

• Academe

• Department of Tourism Regional Offi ce (DoT-RO)

• Department of the Interior and Local Government Local Government Operations Offi
cer (DILG LGOO) • Local Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

• Philippine National Police (PNP)

• Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (DRRMC)

• Transport sector

• Protected Area Superintendent (PASU), when there is a NIPAS area located within the
locality

• Other sectoral representatives and LGU offi ces

Creation of Local Council for Culture and the Arts, and the Formulation of Municipal
Code on the Preservation of Culture, Arts and Heritage. The Municipality of MacArthur,
Leyte which was formally established in June 17, 1950 has grown into what it is now by
way of combined sense of autonomy and responsibility of the early settlers. Such cultural
development for 72 years needs to be sustained and be enriched as it clearly contributes to
the progress of MacArthur though talents, insights and values of the MacArthurnons.
Thus, this Local Council for the Culture and the Arts shall be created. Its functions
includes to formulate policies and plans for the enrichment and sustainability of
MacArthur’s unique cultural heritage (Code for the Preservation of Culture, Arts and
Heritage)…Create necessary committees for the annual Foundation Day and Town Fiesta
of MacArthur…serve as vehicle in the cultivation of the talents and skills especially of the
youth.

Establish or Conduct Cultural Mapping. Cultural mapping, also known as cultural

resource mapping or cultural landscape mapping refers to a wide range of research
techniques and tools used map distinct people’s tangible and intangible cultural assets
within its local landscapes. This is useful because it enables a place to visualize how local
stories, practices, relationships, memories, rituals, and others identify its own identity
making it distinct from other places. This cultural mapping is a big task to be done, that is
why, strong collaboration with the council, the SB Committee on Tourism, the Executive
Office must be in full effect.

Development of Brgys. Lanawan, San Vicente and Sta. Isabel as eco-tourism sites. (Agrio-
farm and mini-zoo)

Development of Tarragona Beach Resort

Revision and Implementation of Lake Bito Development Plan (Rehabilitaton, Livelihood

and Eco-tourism)
Development of Brgy. Oguisan as Pilgrimage Site (Establishment of Stations of the Cross)

Development of the Rocks falls at Brgy. San Antonio