Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he is certain that the Philippines would benefit from tourist arrivals in the upcoming holidays which could be in time for the enactment of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) refund for tourism.
“I am hopeful that the measure will be enacted into law in time for the year-end holidays, when many tourists come to the country to experience our Christmas and New Year festivities,” said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
The Upper Chamber recently approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2415, the bill that provides a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists in the Philippines.
The enactment of the measure into law is expected to boost the country’s tourism competitiveness among its Asian peers.
The measure is also seen as a potential tool to revitalize the local tourism industry, as many of the Philippines’ Asian neighbors have long implemented a similar mechanism.
“Tiwala tayo at umaasa na ang panukalang ito, kapag naisabatas, ay lalong magpapalakas sa turismo ng bansa na siya namang makakatulong para magkaroon ng trabaho ang marami sa ating mga kababayan at magpapalakas pa ng ating ekonomiya (We are confident that this bill, once a law, will further strengthen the country’s tourism and help generate more jobs for many of our people and strengthen our economy),” Gatchalian said.
Records from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show that international visitor arrivals for the first half of the year have reached over three (3) million, reflecting about a seven percent (7%) increase from a year earlier.
According to the DOT, South Korea remains the top source market with 824,798 South Korean visitors entering the Philippines, accounting for 26 percent of the total number.
South Korea is followed by the United States with 522,667 or 16.7 percent; China with 199,939 or 6.3 percent; Japan with 188,805 tourists or 5.9 percent, and Australia with 137,391 or 4.3 percent.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who voted no against the measure, voiced his fears that the measure could expose the government into further tax leakages.
“We are effectively giving away P4-billion of Filipino taxpayers’ money to foreigners,” Pimentel said.
“Instead of giving P4- billion away to foreign tourists, we should direct these funds towards programs and projects that directly benefit the Filipino people,” Pimentel said.