THE Tourism Promotions Board , the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism has access to some P1.265 billion in funds next year.
The fund is sourced from at least 25 percent of the 50-percent national government’s share from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and at least 25 percent of the national government’s share remitted by international airports and seaports. The TPB allocation, along with the P5.1 million in branding and promotions funds for the DOT, lift the government’s total budget to attract international tourists and encourage domestic travelers to visit the Philippines to just P1.27 billion, a significant drawback compared to marketing and promotions funds of other countries in Southeast Asia.
According to a Commission on Audit report on DOT’s financial state last year, nearly 35 percent of the agency’s appropriations of P3.07 billion was “unobligated,” or were not earmarked for specific expenditures, while close to 20 percent of the earmarked funds for projects amounting to P1.6 billion, was “undisbursed.” Moreover, 16.6 percent of the notice of cash allocations for the DOT amounting to P3.62 billion, “was unutilized…[and] reverted to the Bureau of Treasury.