JAB WELL DONE: Palawan Tourism Workers to Get More Vax
Businesses, big or small, were forced to close shops or limit their operations again due to the recent implementation of ECQ in the metro. Even the tourism industry has to adapt to the changes and be creative since last year just to survive.
Although leisure traveling is currently suspended due to the Delta variant scare, Tourism chief Bernadette Romulo-Puyat seized this time as an opportunity to keep our tourism workers safe and protected via vax program.
Earlier this month, the DOT secretary, along with Testing Czar and National Task Force Against COVID-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon, flew to Palawan to lead the ceremonial vaccination of tourism workers in the province.
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Vax program of the Department of Tourism with Sec. Puyat/IMAGE from the DOT
“Vaccinating our tourism front liners will provide protection, peace of mind, and the confidence to travel as we boost recovery and restore livelihoods by promoting domestic tourism. The escalating community quarantines is another roadblock in our progress, but it is a necessary and temporary setback to safeguard the public,” she said.
The premier tourism destinations of Coron, El Nido, San Vicente, and the City of Puerto Princessa are the recipients of the vax program.
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Currently, the DOT requested the health department for a total of 62,000 doses, wherein 30,000 is allocated for Puerto Princesa City, which employs nearly 15,000 tourism workers, while the remaining 32,000 vaccine doses will be for the three municipalities of Palawan.
Tourism workers of Palawan/IMAGE from the DOT
“Today marks a milestone in the Department of Tourism’s pandemic recovery program as we begin the vaccination of tourism front liners in four key destinations around Palawan island. It is crucial that we continue the swift rolling out of the national vaccination program in order to prevent the spread of the Delta variant,” Puyat added.
As the press of time, an initial of 4,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines have been rolled out for the first batch.
Moreover, Sec. Puyat reassured tourism workers that within this month anti-COVID vaccines will arrive.
Puyat and Dizon were joined by Palawan Governor Jose Chaves Alvarez, 1st District Representative Franz “Chikoy” Alvarez, 3rd District Representative Gil Acosta Jr., Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron, and Palawan municipal mayors Amy Alvarez (San Vicente), Edna Lim (El Nido) and Mario Reyes (Coron).
Source: Department of Tourism
Written by Cedie Salido
