By Gillian M. Cortez
Reporter
THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) said it will invest P4.5 million in training employees in Boracay after the recent opening of the rehabilitated tourist island.
“(We are investing in) P4.5 million in training employees and would-be employees in the island,” said DoT Undersecretary Arturo P. Boncato Jr.
When asked what the employment training will be focused on, he told BusinessWorld that it will be more on front desk jobs and housekeeping services.
“These are just frontline services and meron din (there is also) back of the house like housekeeping. Our focus is on tourism industry manpower,” he said.
The tourism undersecretary added that the training will include an orientation on sustainable tourism, a governance theme of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat since she assumed her post last May.
The DoT reported that since the opening of Boracay last Oct. 26 after a six month closure for rehabilitation, tourist arrival is at an average 3,600 daily. Last month, DoT accredited 192 establishments in time for the tourist island’s reopening.
For her part, Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay said both her bureau and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) plan to boost productivity of employees of the newly opened Boracay island.
“We want to inject productivity improvement in the area sa mga (among the) workers at sa mga (and) establishments in the area,” Ms. Tutay told BusinessWorld on Friday.
She added that the labor department and the attached agency are also intensifying efforts in monitoring compliance among businesses with labor rules and regulations in the island.
“We would want to ensure that all the establishments in the Boracay area…are following the correct labor standards and occupational safety and health standards,” she said.

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