The Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) reminded its member associations that they have yet to finalize the guidelines of the budget distribution for the tourism industry under the Bayanihan To Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2.
The reminder was released as many tourism enterprises have been anticipating to receive the financial aid to help their losing businesses.
“Since the ratification of Bayanihan 2, it has yet to be signed into law by the President. In the meantime, the TCP and various multi-sectoral associations have met to get inputs as far as the guidelines will be concerned with regard to the loan applications which will be coursed through the Small Business Corporation,” the TCP said in a Facebook post.
The TCP also said that it is also working with the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT) to thresh out the details of the P3 billion allocated funds to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the cash-for-work programs for displaced tourism workers.
Under the proposed Bayanihan 2 measure, the Congress allocated P4 billion in direct funding to the DOT, of which P1 billion will go to the Tourism Road Infrastructure Programs of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and P3 billion for the implementation of cash-for-work programs under the labor department and for unemployment and involuntary assistance for displaced workers and employees.
An amount of P38.4 billion capital infusion was also allotted for the government finance institutions (GFIs), out of which has been allotted the amount of P10 billion for tourism stakeholders, primarily micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to apply for soft loans and interest subsidy under the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program of the Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corporation (SBGFC) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The DOT and the TCP previously appealed to the lawmakers in the two houses of Congress to retain the proposed P10 billion direct funding to the tourism industry as many enterprises have already filed for business closure with zero revenues amid the unprecedented crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.