Metro Manila, Philippines – So-called tourist courts that are open 24/7 should be established in the country to hasten the resolution of complaints from visitors, a Cabinet official said.
In a statement released Wednesday, Aug. 21, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said its chief, Christina Frasco, floated the idea to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It said the president welcomed the proposal, adding that the Philippine National Police, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Justice (DOJ) shall coordinate with the tourism agency to look into the cases and handle the prosecution.
More than 8,000 police officers have been trained under the Tourist Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection Program. In addition, around 270 barangay tanod, or village police officers, were coached as police multipliers.
“Being a [former] mayor nga po, alam natin na hindi naman enough yung number of police to the actual population, kaya naman po inexpand natin yung program na ito na isasali na natin sa training yung barangay tanod and barangay intelligence network multipliers in various areas in the country. And we are expanding this to various LGUs [local government units],” Frasco said.
[Translation: As a former mayor, we know that the number of police is not enough to the actual population. That is why we expanded the program to include the training of barangay tanod and intelligence network multipliers in various areas in the country. And we are expanding this to various LGUs.]
“Overall, the effort is to build confidence in tourism for the Philippines,” she went on.
About 3.8 million international travelers visited the Philippines as of Aug. 19. Most are from South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.
NewsWatch Plus correspondent Daniza Fernandez contributed to this report.
