Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito has slammed what he said are “obviously political” cuts in the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) budget for promotions in recent years.

Ejercito said that due to the budget cuts the Philippines’ competitiveness in the global tourism market suffered.

“In 2024, the DOT’s promotions budget was slashed by 83% from P1.2 billion to P200 million. This year, it was cut by half again to only P100 million. That is not only alarming, it is clearly political,” Ejercito stressed during the organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Tourism on Wednesday, August 20.

“But now that I chair the Committee on Tourism, I assure you it will not happen again,” the senator said.

Ejercito warned that the country won’t be able to compete with its ASEAN neighbors if promotional funding continues to shrink, especially with just a P100-million budget.

He cited Malaysia’s long-running 'Truly Asia' campaign, as well as the aggressive tourism spending of Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

“I don’t think we can really compete with only P100 million budget. In the end, it is not the legislators who are the victims here. It is the Filipino people who will lose the opportunity,” he said.

The lawmaker pointed out that tourism remains one of the country’s most promising industries, calling it a “low-hanging fruit” for economic growth.

“When we bring in more visitors—local and foreign—it stimulates jobs, businesses, and infrastructure development. Tourism is my personal advocacy, and we’ll do our best to support it,” Ejercito said.

“I have seen a lot of hidden treasures and potential tourism areas, but I am a witness that we still lack infrastructure. It is very important to make it convenient for tourists to move around the country,” he said.

As a motorcycle enthusiast, Ejercito also called for stronger efforts to boost domestic travel.

“We don’t want to attract only foreign tourists. We also want that Filipinos themselves would see the beauty of the Philippines. As they say, let’s not be foreigners in our own country,” he stressed.

Despite the challenges, Ejercito assured that his committee will work with the DOT to strengthen the sector. 

“Tourism is not only about destinations, it is also about our identity,” he said.

Under the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) for FY 2026, the proposed budget for the DOT is P3.1 billion, while P1.3 billion is earmarked for the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).