MANILA, 26 August 2024: The Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco calls for 24/7 tourist courts to speed up the resolution of tourist cases.
She proposed the matter during a recent meeting with President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr in Malacañang, during which the President agreed that the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should work alongside the DOT to investigate and prosecute crimes related to tourists.
“We are now working with the DOJ, and we will be collaborating with the judiciary department for the establishment of a 24-hour tourist court to resolve crimes related to our tourists,” the Secretary said during a briefing for the proposed budget of the DOT for the 2025 fiscal year held at the House of Representatives in Quezon City last week.
The DOT is also beefing up police forces across strategic locations of the country, primarily in areas with a high concentration of tourists. Over 8,000 police personnel have already been trained under the Department’s Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) Programme.
The tourism chief emphasised that the DOT is also working with the Department of National Defense (DND) to strengthen the strategic development of tourism, especially in key areas of the country.
As of 19 August 2024, the Philippines welcomed 3,860,730 international visitors, of which 92.05% or 3,553,720 are foreigners, while the remaining 7.95%, 307,010, are overseas Filipinos. The top 10 source markets are South Korea, the United States of America, Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.
