Doubtless,
Bohol is the new darling of the discriminating tourist. But uneasy herein lays
the head that wears the crown - for it needs refining to stay Top Gun.
The
beauty of Bohol is that in one effortless day, a tourist can be shown paradise
in its varied resplendent glory. But much needs to be done.
Let's
be frank that there are resorts and restaurants that do not make the grade for
world-class facilities. The service is not at par with a jaded tourist's discriminating
taste. We are not saying there should be no less expensive places to go for indeed
they serve a distinct market which also deserves to see Nature's wonders.
We
enjoin the Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) to set the guidelines in classifying
the grades of tourist establishments with the view of ranking them according to
excellence. The classification serves two purposes. One, it becomes an official
guide for tourists to make their call and choose their wild. Two, it encourages
the lower ranked facilities to upgrade to a higher category if that is their corporate
plan.
On
the other hand, our signature destination, the fabulous Chocolate Hills has remained
what they looked like 30 years ago when the hills' complex was completed under
the chairmanship of our departed Editor-Publisher Jun Dejaresco. After completion
during the term of Tourism Secretary Jose Aspiras, the complex seemed to have
frozen in time - except for the addition of the newly finished eight rooms and
function room edifice. Whoa, not even a telescope for tourists to view the 1,000
perfectly shaped chocolate hills? Let's not flagellate ourselves even further
by discussing the food and comfort room quality.
The
Provincial Government and the Carmen town LGU are locked in mortal legal combat
as to the ownership of the area even as they commercially manage the place on
a 70-30 sharing arrangement. Time and again, the Chronicle had postulated that
the development of the Carmen area is best left at the hands of the private sector
which has the financial clout and the managerial acumen to make "mountains
of the (mole) hills,"
not in the metaphorical sense.
The
PTC is only too eager to hear proposals how the privatization (sale or build operate
and transfer) and the innovative re-engineering of the towering tourism jewel
can be done - to elevate the hills to a level that deserves their stature. No
glossy brochure nor flashy film clip can sell what we don't have, believe you
us.
Meantime,
the well-received Loboc river cruise needs masterful handling led by the good
mayor Leon Calipusan. That handsome P14-million new docking area is ideal for
the kind of traffic the Loboc cruise rides generate. However, the old, weak bailey
bridge, has no clear imprimatur for good use of the DPWH to support the tourist
buses going to the new port across the Loboc church. There are also kinks intervening
between the floating restaurant operators and the Loboc-LGU for the operation
of the multi-million peso port.
Both
issues must be addressed by Calipusan in a balancing act that should consider
the interest of all parties justly and equitably.
Finally,
the environmental hazard posed by the salvage zones within the Alona beach area
continues to bear watching because the rule has been observed more on the breach
by the resorts that were meant to be protected by such rule, in the first place.
It is a horrible irony that is not lost on us - and the regulators.
It
may seem enigmatic to state that to stay where they are, the Bohol tourist spots
must all change - it is the only permanent thing in this world. Ponder on that. LOOK
AT AMERICA'S ELECTIONS After
12 years of Republican rule at Capitol Hills, the Democrats last week wrested
control of the Senate and Lower House in the United States.
The
mid-term election was a virtual referendum on President George Bush - and a stinging
rebuke of his leadership, the Iraq War policy and corruption. The people also
chorused loudly on how badly the Republican-controlled Congress behaved and emphasized
the need for fiscal discipline and ethical reforms.
That
meant Congress was seen to be a profligate spender and a largely immoral one at
that. If it is of any comfort, the Philippines is not alone in that category -
but we are not supposed to be a model of decadent standards to measure others
with. In the Exit polls, 42% of the American voters opined that corruption was
an "extremely important" part of their decision who to vote for.
According
to the Washington Post, the Republicans were seen as a Party who "set aside
their principles in order to stay in power." Their tribe leader George Bush
insisted his was a policy of no compromise with terrorists - even using the 9/11
anniversary to prove his point - but the Americans were looking with more focus
on the woeful military and political failure in the destruction of Iraq.
To
be sure, there was no dancing in the streets in Washington or even Texas when
CNN reported Saddam Hussein would die by hanging. Something got lost (in the public's
mind) about the morality play Bush was trying to justify in attacking the evil
empire of Iraq.
Many
Republican candidates lost because of the Bush Factor, which - long before Saddam
is hanged - hung like a political albatross around their necks. It was hard defending
an indefensible position.
And
Bush - who claimed responsibility for the Republican debacle - suffers from a
poor 30% approval rating, the lowest ever for a sitting president after Harry
Truman in 1946.
Any
American President who only has a 40% approval rating during a mid-term US elections
had their candidates losing. This happened to Bill Clinton in 1994, Ronald Reagan
1982, Lyndon Johnson 1966 and Harry S. Truman in 1946 and 1950.
The
issues above should not be lost on the present administration in the Philippines
as it pitches camp for another electoral battle before a cocky opposition in May
2007. | 
