Press Release - Tolentino urges DOT: map out transition fund, mechanism to sustain Sulu tourism following its exclusion from BARMM

Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to map out a transition fund and mechanism that would sustain tourism promotion in Sulu for the remainder of the year, and facilitate the province's transition to the Zamboanga Peninsula Region (Region IX) beginning with next year's budget.

The proposal was raised by the senator at the finance sub-committee hearing on the proposed funding allocation in 2025 for DOT and its attached agencies held Wednesday.

Tolentino has consistently drummed up the need to put together a Sulu Transition Fund at the budget hearings of various government agencies, following the Supreme Court's ruling that excluded the province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

"Because of its separation from the BARMM, effective September 10, if I'm not mistaken, this was extended to September 15, all tourism employees based in Sulu under the Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Tourism will now be out of employment, projects discontinued, offices closed," the senator stressed.

Responding to Tolentino, DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said that a technical working group has been formed within the agency for the purpose, citing a recent precedent - the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR), which necessitated similar adjustments.

"Majority Leader, perhaps we can look to precedent in terms of what the DOT has done in terms of jurisdictional shifts. So, recently, as you know, the NIR was created, the effect of which was to separate certain provinces and compound them into NIR, including Siquijor," Frasco pointed out.

"And so what the DOT has done is to issue a department order to form a technical working group to ensure that there is a proper transition to address displacements, and that services are not hindered," she added.

Frasco likewise assured Tolentino that tourism development for Sulu is well within the plans of the Marcos administration, which she said fully recognizes the province's potential, being an emerging tourism destination.

"Sana po sa pag-finetune natin ng budget, huwag po natin makalimutan ang lalawigan ng Sulu. Kasi hindi lang sila bahagi ng tourism and