MANILA, April 16 (PNA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III said that he was pleased by the developments in the major passenger terminals he inspected with officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Wednesday.

The inspection of air and sea ports and bus terminals was done to check the terminals’ safety and security preparations for the surge of people flocking to the provinces for the Holy Week.

In an ambush interview, the President said that he was glad that the devices in the terminals have been modernized and that his directives were strictly followed.

He also revealed plans for the upgrade of more equipment in the terminals, especially at airports located in the country’s tourist destinations.

“...Dati parang ang focus natin ‘pag may dumarating na turista, tiyak na dadaan ng Maynila. Pero ‘pag turista ka at limitado ang oras mo sa bakasyon mo, mas gugustuhin mong dumiretso na sa kung saan man ang pupuntahan,” the President said.

(“...In the past, our focus is that if there were tourists arriving, they would have to go through Manila. But if you are a tourist and have a limited time to go on vacation, you would prefer to go directly to the place you meant to visit,” the President said in Filipino.)

The President also said that with the number of tourists visiting the country annually, it is not impossible that the country would be able to meet its 10 million international tourism target by 2016.

“So, habang dumadami, lumalaki ang ekonomiya, dumadami ang pagkakataon ng ating mga kababayan na lumakbay e siyempre kailangang sumabay iyong mga pasilidad ng gobyerno at ng pamahalaan at iyon ang tinatrabaho natin,” he said.

(“As the economy expands, the opportunity of our citizens to travel also expands and of course, it should harmonize with the facilities of the government of this administration and that is what we are working on,” he said.)

He further said that the goal was also to make sure that the right facilities are placed in the right places.

“Baka dapat ibuhos na natin doon sa ibang mga lugar na siyang tatanggap tulad ng Caticlan, iyong Panglao, iyang Puerto Prinsesa and other places in Palawan and also in the North,” President Aquino said.

(“Maybe we should pour out most of our efforts to places that accept tourists such as Caticlan, Panglao, Puerto Princesa and other places in Palawan and also in the North,” the President said.) (PNA)
CTB/ANP