The critical tourist courts project is now in the pipeline as the chiefs of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) met recently at the DOT Central Office in Makati City to discuss the details of the proposed inter-agency collaboration.
“All of us were very happy about the news of your appointment knowing how close your heart is to LGUs, and that is exactly the approach that we have tried here at the Department of Tourism since I also came from the LGU,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said while congratulating the newly installed DILG Chief Jonvic Remulla, the former governor of the Province of Cavite.
Both secretaries have deep-rooted backgrounds in leading local governments.
Frasco proposed the new flagship project to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in one of the sectoral meetings in Malacañang, where the Chief Executive himself agreed that the DILG, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), should work alongside the DOT to investigate and prosecute crimes related to tourists.
The concept of tourist courts is not new in the industry. Countries with established tourist courts include Thailand, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among in-demand global destinations with high concentrations of tourists and transients.
Through the project, the DILG’s PNP, shall prioritize and/or expedite cases involving tourists which will be endorsed to the designated tourist courts.
Remulla proposed that densely populated destinations could be the pilot areas for tourist courts. The DILG chief also raised some important points related to how to better execute the project, such as the nature of offenders, among others.
For his part, the DILG head vowed to help the DOT.
“We will help you.”
“We will help you,” Remulla assured.
The DILG is a long-time partner of the DOT in good governance.
Another important matter discussed during the meeting is the strengthening and further integration of the National Tourism Oriented Police For Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) Program, a long-standing collaborative partnership between the two agencies, to beef up police visibility across strategic tourist destinations in the country.
“The training for the TOPCOP program can be part of the mandatory police training to strengthen its integration.”
Remulla suggested that the training for the TOPCOP program can be part of the mandatory police training to strengthen its integration.
The DOT also conducts training sessions for barangay tanod and barangay intelligence networks as police multipliers.
The Secretaries also discussed the required accreditation of tourism enterprises and establishments where LGUs are involved; the DOT’s tourist assistance call center where all tourist-related concerns and queries are being coursed through; and the second cycle of the Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC) aimed at encouraging more LGUs to join the competition geared toward an enhanced Philippine Experience.
Other existing partnerships of the DOT with the LGUs include the Tourist Rest Areas (TRAs) and another new infrastructure project, the Tourist First Aid Facilities (TFAFs).
Officials who also joined the Secretaries are Tourism Undersecretaries Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, Ferdinand Jumapao, Verna Buensuceso, Maria Rica Bueno, Assistant Secretaries Judilyn Quiachon and Ronald Conopio, Directors Jennifer Olba, and Glenn Ocampo, as well as Undersecretaries Marlo Iringan and Juan Victor Llamas from the DILG.
