Slowly building its cruise tourism reputation

TACLOBAN CITY– An international cruise ship is set to drop anchors at Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte this November.

This was disclosed by its information officer, Raoul Bacalla who said that this early, they are preparing the island for the visit of the Coral Adventurer, an Australian-based cruise ship.

Bacalla, who also serves as the municipal environment and natural resources officer, said that they are excited with the coming of the international cruise ship which is expected to have in board over 120 foreign guests.

As part of the preparations, the 6.8 hectares island known for its white and powdery sandbars and clear water, had a weeklong cleanup held early this month with additional cottages to be constructed, he said.

Kalanggaman Island is not only considered to be the top tourist destination in Palompon but is also known as the tourism jewel of Eastern Visayas.

The November visit of the Coral Adventurer is not the first international cruise ship to visit Kalanggaman. In February of this year, the Silver Shadow, a Monaco-based Silversea fleet also docked at the famed island carrying over 300 guests.

“The visit of this international cruise ship is so timely because November is an abre grande of Palompon. That means, the grand opening of all festivals in Palompon and every day, there are activities,” he said.

Most of these activities include water sports like kayak marathons and dragon boat races.
The visit of international cruise ships to the island is a testament that Kalanggaman Island is slowly becoming a favorite site, particularly among foreign guests.

Bacalla said that while they are happy with the visits of international cruise ships to the island, what excites them more is the big arrivals of local tourists to their town, notably at Kalanggaman Island.

In fact, he said, of the more than 150,000 tourists that visited Kalanggaman Island last year, only 10 percent of them were foreign guests.

“One thing that we have learned is that here in Leyte, including Palompon, most of the tourists are locals. If we maximize this, our tourism industry can survive. Families now travel,” Bacalla said.

Bacalla disclosed that last year, tourism receipt of the town reached P26.7 million and for the first seven months of the current year, they have generated over P20 million.
He is optimistic that with the remaining three months of the year, they could achieve their target of P28 million in tourism receipts for this year.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY– Environmental groups in the Philippines on Friday (Sept.15) joined the historic marches against fossil fuel projects that are planned across the world.

Ian Rivera, coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), said the success of a fast and fair fossil fuel phaseout “primarily lies with the leaders of developed countries with huge historical responsibility for the climate crisis.”

“Wealthy countries must deliver their full fair share of climate actions, including meeting their climate finance obligations so that developing countries, the least responsible but suffering the brunt of the climate crisis, can rapidly shift to efficient, safe, renewable energy,” he said.

Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said that they are ramping up their efforts to convince world leaders to initiate actions to phase out the use of fossil fuel.

“We are escalating this fight in the face of the swiftly intensifying climate crisis and consequent impacts while governments continue to have low ambition and in fact are backtracking from their already weak commitments,” she said.

Nacpil’s group, along with more than 3,800 organizations around the globe, kicked off the Asia-wide protests that drew millions of people.

They have targeted 650 mobilizations and protest actions in 60 countries.

On September 15 alone, more than 20,000 people trooped to the streets in 10 Asian countries, including the Philippines, “to demand a rapid, just and equitable end to fossil fuels.”

On September 17th, climate activities staged the “March to End Fossil Fuels” in New York to demand President Joe Biden “take bold climate action by rejecting new fossil fuel projects, phasing out fossil fuel production, and declaring a climate emergency.”

On September 18, a 10,000-strong climate march took place in Tokyo, Japan organized by trade unions, environmental groups, and anti-nukes campaigners.

“With so many deceptive excuses, governments are expanding rather than phasing out gas and oil. Unproven unreliable solutions like carbon capture and removal technologies, hydrogen, and ammonia co-firing are being promoted to extend the life of coal energy,” said Nacpil.

“We are not just fighting for the communities living around fossil fuel infrastructures. The health and well-being of humanity and the planet is at stake. We are saying end fossil fuels fast, fair, forever because the fight against the fossil fuel industry needs to have equity and justice at the heart of it or it won’t succeed,” she added.

Environmental groups around the world demand that countries will rebuild their economies as post-carbon economies by 2050. (RONALD O.REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY– Various civil society groups have urged lawmakers, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, and government leaders in Asia to support a “just, equitable, progressive, reform of the international tax architecture” through the upcoming UN Tax Convention.

“The massive profits that large corporations and wealthy individuals have gained through the exploitation of tax systems in the Philippines and around the world should be handed back to workers, farmers, women, youth, and other basic sectors through progressive taxes like wealth taxes and the repeal of regressive, anti-people taxes like value-added taxes (VAT) that only raise the prices of basic goods and services,” said Fara Diva Gamalo, Eastern Visayas coordinator of Sanlakas, on Tuesday(Sept.19).

Civil society network Asian Peoples’ Movement for Debt and Development (APMDD), together with multisectoral group Sanlakas, women’s group Oriang, ALMA-QC, and Kilusan para sa Kabuhayan, Kalusugan, Kalikasan, at Katiyakan sa Paninirahan – QC (K4K-QC), organized the “Open Letter handover” in the country “to assert that the billions in revenue lost directly translates to a lack of funds to secure peoples’ rights to public services at a time when prices of basic goods and services are constantly rising.”

The open letter, signed by over 40 grassroots organizations across Asia and entitled “UN Tax Convention Now: A Call for Urgent Tax Justice,” calls on governments in Asia to back demands from peoples’ movements and tax justice advocates from around the world.
According to the groups, the “Open Letter handover” was part of the Asia Days of Action for Tax Justice, a week of civil society actions calling for justice in national and international tax systems under Tax and Fiscal Justice Network Asia (TAFJA), an Asia-wide network of grassroots organizations campaigning for tax justice.

The groups’ advocacy campaign, which runs from September 18-22, coincides with the opening of the 78th Session of the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, where member states will discuss the options moving forward for a UN Tax Convention as laid out by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his 2023 Tax Report.

Citing a 2023 report by the international tax justice advocacy group Tax Justice Network, the Philippine-based civil society groups said that the government’s revenue losses total a staggering $ 480 billion annually due to tax abuses, particularly from multinational corporations and wealthy individuals. (RONALD O. REYES)