MANIIA.

PHITIPPINES I THURSDAY I3 FEBRUARY 2O2O

If this goes on for five months, all the way to the

Tourism second"quartei then the impact on the GDP would
be at -.3 for the whole Year'
flounders the tourism department is to Clemente. Fbrwa,rd boohngs
also encouraging, the public to are atso affected.
amid travel to otlrer provinces in tlte
counB. Nafional Economic
National Economic. Developmeff Authority
covlD-te Derelopment AuthoriW NEDA)
Urdeneoetary Rosemarie Edillon
Undersecr€tary Bosema,rie
Erlillon said the agency
8y Xeith Calayag
saidthe agency e$imated tourisn
estimated towism losses
@laDune1ht A/r of abolt P22.7 billion per
losses of aborfr PZ.?, biUion per
morth due to the outbreak
is expected to month due to the outbreak,
The Philippines
billion in revenues in the She urged the govemmdnt
Iose P42 Bohol also recoded subdantial
neat two months due to the 2019 to adtlress fear and encourage cancellations ard losses with t10 to
novel co{onavirus or COVID'i9, peopletotravel..
50 percent cancellation as far as
formerly known as nCoV Ddillon added. that if this
bookings are concemed
persis.sformoru,r,q;tourisirrrelated
This was disclosed YesterdaY Cebu hotels suffered a loss of
by Department of Tourism (DoT) industries may have.to reduce
P100 million since the travel ban
Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat vnd<ers in the irdu$ry. :
against those comfu ftom China
a joint hearing of the House
during ff this ha.Ppens, she said.the
and its administrative' re$ons
government can offer traininb
committees on tourism and on
ftem.
- ,rirh ilirposled. -.

economic affairs. turn to page A2

packages for
nlfthis goes -;. Clerirpnte said companies
on for fhe montls,
specializfu in the China ma.rket
all tlte way to the second quafier,
nunNeAl then the impact on tie GDP
and the related markets are
closing down temporarily while
wouldbe
"[he expected reduction in some.coisider permanently
she added.
various visitor a.rrivals from the closing b.usiness.
markets a.ffected will result to
. {}re domeSic tourism should are also
really make up for it Qosses)," going
foregone revenue that will carry
she added.
over until about ASil of this year carnot
the tourism sector contributes
totaling to an estimated value situation
12. 7 percent to the total GDP.
of Ptl8 billion. But that is onb
Bobby tinq oacutive diredor
China, Hongftong. a.nd Macau. If
ardvice ctuirnan oftheAb Caniem
we include Taiwan it will be P4.9 "This. will definitely a,ffect
As1g.cre4o4 oJ tlhe P\llippiags,
billion." employment,' he added.
The outbreak has affected a.n organizaiion comprising of ;" lr' ': :

Cebu kcific, Air Asia, Phifippine Lift thiftran triliel ben

mainly the airline and cruise
Allines,AirPhilippines aldotlers, IIe urged the gol€mment to
indu$ries, PW"t said.
She narrated that the Civil
brought to the committee the lift the bavel ban on Taiwan as he

Aeronautics Board repofts at least

effeds of the fli*t cancellations nded that lbiwanese nationals are
to airlines tbp five among nationalitie nho
465 cancelled flights per lleek to
the Philippines. these axe ftom fuqentfvisit the comtry
China, Hong Kong, Macau and Aecording to the Dol 1.63
Taiwan fur a total of 101,452 seats, million of the total 74 million
as of 11 February, intemational tourist anfuals ftom
The cruise industry suffered
with 11 ca.ncellation of calls to Nrxr PA+e FU..+
va,rious Philippine pofis as of 7
February.
\ +n,oiT PAEa t'
(r)
Tourism flounders amid COVID'|9
January to lftrrernber of 2019 in the
pa$ years vrcre Chinese
The Chinese are also
considered the second biggest
towist spenden in the Philippin€s
nelit to the South Koreans, with
the DoT noting that Chinese
tourists spent. $910.4 million or
a,round P5l billion h the cormtrY
in the first six months of 2019.
Malacaflang,.ho srcr; stress€d
that the havel ban on Taiwan will
stay to ensul€ the safety of the
Filipino people.
' "If the World Health
Organizationsals tirere is a need
for the lifting of the ban, then
we will," presidential spokesman
Salvador Panelo said.
The Overseas Workers
Welfare Mministration (O\ryWA),
however, said Tdiwan-b ound
Filipino workers who' were
stranded in the PhiliPPines
might receive fmancial aid from
government.
OIVWA- Administrator Hans
\\ TtJ,ofiT taAc{€ t'
(q)
Leo Cacdac disclosed that the
agency is ironing out kinks
before P10,000 suppofi is granted
to ea.ch strarded vorker.
Meanwhile, Senator and
Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Health
Christopher Lawrence "Bong"
Go pushed for the imProvement
of government hospitals and
health care services to FiliPinos
as he presided over the
committee aPProval of House
Bills (HB) 1799, 1477, 83t, U44r
58?l and 5870. and Senate Bill
(SB) 640 on WerlnesdaY.
Go said FiliPino Patients
should be Prioritized in the
passage of the Republic Act (RA)
11463 or the Malasakit Center
Act of 2019, which mandates
the establishment of Malasakit
CenteN in ?3 hosPitals that a,re
run bythe DePa,ltment ofHealth
all over the comtry ard at the
Philippine General HosPital in
Manila.