Thursday, September 2, 2010

Salvaged!

Salvaged!
By Rolo B. Cena
The Gulf Files
Dumaguete Star Informer
05 September 2010


On the 23rd day of August, while the world was seriously watching the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the world’s Chinese Community was closely monitoring the developments of the Manila hostage taking that started early that day.

The 22-year old resplendent Mexican Model Jimena Navarette was crowned Miss Universe while Philippine’s bet, Filipino-Indian Maria Venus Raj ended as fourth runner up.

55-year old dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza, multi-awarded and hailed by his superiors as one of the country’s top officers, was gunned down after the 11-hour hostage taking ordeal in the Quirino Grandstand. Mendoza was dismissed from service following the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman for extortion and alleged involvement in drug trafficking and related cases. Ironically though, in the Philippine soap dish, when an officer is allegedly involved in drug trafficking, expect that “Padrinos” are in the house.

Her brighter chance to the magic three would have been possible when the world, Raj and Miss Universe’ judges included, were not affected by the Manila incident. Raj was a consistent top bet in the believed-to-be politics-free, tourism-centered and centuries-old beauty competition. Contrary to international perception, there was no right or wrong answer to the question posed by William Baldwin to Raj. In HR parlance, her answer may be right in her own judgment and understanding of the question. The thing is that she did not embellish anything that would give impact to the judges, more so, catapult her to the throne.

Tourism has been one of the major sources of income of the “Pearl of the Orient.” Apparently, the flamboyant multi-cultural Filipino community plus the irresistible eco-tourism of the country are among the factors attributed to our booming tourism industry. These two, plus all other socio-economic and political factors contribute to the balanced dynamics of the industry.

Unfortunately, as my fear dictates, the balanced dynamics is not after Mendoza hostaged Chinese tourists and even killed eight (8) of them mercilessly. Arguably though, one event can be Raj’s bright-hope-in-a-sad-day romp to the fifth slot in the most prestigious beauty searches on earth.

Putting my two cents in, we are repeating the history not because history repeats itself, but because we never have succeeded in correcting the mistakes recorded in our history, much more, in learning from these omissions and commissions.

Undoubtedly, the country may have some of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world, to say the least, at par with any islands in the Caribbean, Pacific, or in the neighboring isles. Imagine Negros Oriental to have been voted as one of the Top 20 Best Islands to Live In by Travel Magazine in 2007. Recently, Boracay resort was voted as among the top 10 tourist destinations in Asia.

But the deadly hostage crisis, in addition to Abu Sayyaf kidnapping activities, the escalating and unresolved media killings, set to reinforce the country's status in the list of the most dangerous places on earth. It substantiates the Southeast Asian nation’s stereotype of the country as a lawless, corrupt and chaotic land.
Perhaps, it stands to reason why, referring to the Manila incident, Rommel Banlaoi, Head of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism, reacted by saying "This will clearly have a tremendous impact on the Philippines' tourism industry and the country's ability to attract foreign investment."

In August 2000, Jeffrey Schilling, an American Muslim convert, was kidnapped while visiting Abu Sayyaf camp in Jolo Island. He escaped after almost eight months of ordeal.

In May 2001, three Americans and 17 other tourists are snatched from the famed Dos Palmas Resort in southwestern Palawan Island-province. This included American couple missionary Martin and Gracia Burnham. The other American was beheaded while Martin was killed in an offensive military rescue operation. Gracia survived.

According to statistics from the Department of Tourism, the industry bounced back in 2004 after the 2001 to 2003 socially-plagued crisis. 2004 recorded 2.3 million visits compared to 2003’s 1.9 million. In 2009, 3 million international visits were registered, the highest so far in the tourism industry of the country. Although compared to our neighbors like Thailand’s 14.15 registry of the same year, our tourism industry is obviously chugging behind.

Apparently, looking at the statistics, it would seem to note that we have recovered from the stigma of the 2001world-covered kidnapping issue. As Pete Troilo, Manila-based business intelligence director with the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy group, quoted: “the Philippines was actually as safe for foreigners as most other Asian countries.”

However, the way we painted the tourism industry is as bizarre as the damaged politics left by the Arroyo Administration. The pastel we used is the unique and high-profile security threats that resulted to a canvass unfairly reputed for being far more dangerous than other places in Asia. The stroke we used was the lawless and merciless activities of the Muslim bandits of the southern Philippines that paved the way to complete the weirdest of all masterpieces in the world of visual arts.

To aggregate all these events, it certainly doesn't sound like the Philippines is a place international tourists want to visit for leisure. Adding fuel to the fire, they actually see vividly the reality when they come to the country.

No one is exempt from this: all of us salvaged the tourism industry of the country. Do we still have something to offer to the world?

Published in Dumaguete Star Informer, 05 Sept 2010

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