Tourism workers affected by calamities can now avail of financial and training assistance- DoT

This, after Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and Secretary REX Gatchalian formally sealed the agreement on the Bayanihan sa Bukas na may Pag-asa sa Turismo (BBMT) program on Thursday (Jan. 23).

This means that qualified tourism frontliners may now avail of the DSWD’s existing cash assistance programs, including the Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) and Cash for Work, while simultaneously receiving the DOT interventions on alternative livelihood training programs like basic hilot; candle making; beads and artwork training; basic bread and pastry making; detergent making; fun farm tour product development; tourism awareness and tourist reception seminar; community-based kulinarya; and the Filipino brand of Service Excellence (FBSE), if their usual sources of livelihood have been disrupted by calamities and emergencies, including the recent eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Occidental.

The partnership seeks potential program participants who can be disaster-qualified tourism workers listed under the Listahanan 3; other qualified household beneficiaries under a standardized/unified targeting system used by the DSWD; other criteria prescribed in other disaster risk reduction guidelines that will be promulgated in the future; resident workers in tourism destinations or attractions; members of a community-based tourism organization or beneficiaries jointly approved by the DSWD and DOT; or may be affected by calamities or emergencies that disrupted their livelihood as tourism service providers.

Last May 27, 2024, both Secretaries attended the pilot run of the BBMT to give financial and training assistance to the victims of widespread flooding in several areas of the Davao Region and Agusan Del Sur in the Caraga region in early February 2024. The ceremony was held in Mati City, Davao Oriental.