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
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