Local Economic Development in the Philippines: Profile of Northern Palawan 2016

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I. Local Government Profile Northern Palawan Fast Facts Population Land Area Cities Municipalities Capital City Income Class Project Coverage Economic Drivers

771,667 1,464,973 hectares 1 23 Puerto Princesa City 1st Busuanga, Coron, Culion, and Linapacan Agriculture, fisheries, mining, tourism, handicrafts

Palawan hailed as the Philippines’ ‘Last Ecological Frontier,’ is the largest province in the country with regards to total area of jurisdiction. It is located between the Western Philippine and Sulu Sea and has a total area of 1,464,973 hectares. The province is part of Region IV-B or the MIMAROPA Region along with Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Palawan as a Biosphere Reserve and a Fish and Wildlife Sanctuary and Habitat of 232 endemic species for its highly diverse collection of fishes and other marine life.

Composed of at least 1,700 islands, Palawan's capital is Puerto Princesa City and comprises of 23 municipalities and 367 barangays. With a total population of 771,667 (52% male, 48% female) in 2010, Palawan's population density is 53 persons per square kilometer, making it the province with the second least population density after Apayao.

Based on the Official Poverty Statistics of the Philippines, the poverty incidence in Palawan on 2012 is estimated at 25.17%.

The Human Development Index for 2009, which attempts to measure the complete concept of human development by tracking the progress of three selected aspects of human life, is recorded at 0.498.

Based on GIS mapping and analysis by the Manila Observatory and DENR, Palawan is considered to have a very low combined risk to geophysical disasters, such as earthquakes (low) and earthquake-induced landslides (no risk), tsunamis (low), and volcanic eruptions (no risk). Similarly, the Manila Observatory’s analysis has determined that Palawan combined risk to climate-related disasters is “very low” in comparison to all other provinces. Climate-related disasters include El Niño (medium risk), projected temperature increase (very low), projected rainfall change (low), and typhoons (low).

Palawan was, unfortunately, one of the provinces which were directly affected in November 2013 by Supertyphoon Yolanda, one of the strongest typhoons in recorded history. Northern Palawan, specifically, Coron was the typhoon’s last landfall before exiting out of the country. The supertyphoon affected 20,000 families and 80,000 individuals and displaced 5,000 people. According to the National Commission for Indigenous People (NCIP), 15,000 people from the Tagbanua population of Coron and other Calamian Islands were among those directly affected. Damage to property, lifeline and communication facilities, agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, fishing vessels, fruit trees, and tourist boats was estimated to be at least PHP 2 billion.

Local Economy Agriculture and fisheries are the major economic activities in Palawan. The three major crops grown are rice, corn and coconut. Other crops grown are mango and cashew. Cashew is one of the important crops locally processed into delicacies such as roasted, fried/salted, brittle, “bandi”, pulvoron, barqueron, cashew wine, cashew prunes and other delicacies with roasted whole nuts as the major product. Raw cashew nuts are also shipped out to India, Pampanga, Manila, and Antipolo cashew processors. Palawan also has existing plantations of rubber and palm oil trees.

Palawan has 176 fishing grounds, which supply 65% of Metro Manila’s fish consumption. It is known for fresh and dried fish, lamayo, fish fillet, smoked fish, tuna cuts, spicy dilis, tuna sausage, tuna spring rolls, and delectable fish cuisine which are served in hotels/restaurants. Other marine products produced and exported are live grouper and seaweeds with an approximate production of 260,606 MT.

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Another major industry in Palawan is mining due to its large reserves of nickel. The province's natural gas and oil deposits are the largest in the country. Chromite, copper, silica, marble, quicksilver, manganese, cement, uranium, limestone, barite, feldspar, sand, gravel, pebbles, and guano are other mineral deposits in the province.

Tourism has also been contributing more to the local economy given Palawan's rich natural resources such as the Underground River, Tabon Caves, and Tubbataha Reef. Among the popular tourist destinations are Puerto Princesa City, El Nido, Coron, Busuanga, and Port Barton.

Lastly, ethnic handicrafts are being produced in Palawan and supplied to Manila-based exporters and as souvenir items for tourists in support to the tourism industry1.

LGUs Covered in the Project The municipalities of Busuanga, Coron, Culion and Linapacan compose the Calamianes, and the Project has partnered with Busuanga, Coron, and Culion. Busuanga occupies the western one-third of Busuanga Island, Calauit Island and other nearby islands. Coron, the neighboring municipality of Busuanga, occupies the eastern section of Busuanga Island, Coron Island and other nearby islets. Culion is composed of Culion Island and 41 minor islands surrounding it. Linapacan is composed of the islands of Linapacan and 6 other minor islands. The population of Calamianes in 2010 was 97,932. Of that total, 30% belong to three major Indigenous Cultural Communities, the Cuyunen, Tagbanwa, and Calamianen.

Tourism is the main economic driver of the Calamianes, which in turn creates job opportunities in other sectors such as trade, fisheries, and agriculture. From 2008 to 2013, visitor arrivals in the Calamianes have constantly increased from 13,849 to 91,580, yielding an annual average growth rate of 45.91%. Due to the limited number of flights and boat trips as well as the high airfare costs to the area, the growth rate from 2012-2013 was only 8.16%. The tourism industry is responsible for the total tourism workforce of 1,619 (569 Female and 1050 Male).

LGU Province Busuanga Coron Culion Linapacan

Income Class 1st 3rd 1st 3rd 5th

Population 771,667 21,358 42,941 19,543 14,180

Land Area (hectares) 1,464,973 39,290 68,910 49,959 19,544

No. of Barangays 433 14 23 14 10

All things considered, the direct impact of Typhoon Yolanda on the tourism sector was not as large as it was for other places where the storm had made landfall. Much of Coron Town was partially shielded from the full force of the typhoon by Coron Island. Thus, other than damage to windows and roofs, most tourism establishments escaped with relatively minimal damage. However, many small boat operators also lost their vessels to Yolanda. Although, the Typhoon caused damage to the Coron Airport terminal, commercial flights quickly resumed operations within a week. Nevertheless, visitor arrivals took a dip in the following months as tourists opted to forego travel to Coron and other Yolanda-affected sites both for practical (limited telecommunications and power supply) and emotional (e.g. inappropriate or insensitive, after a tragedy of that scale) reasons.

LED Enabling Environment As the Provincial Government of Palawan began to undertake its Local Project with LGSP-LED, there were existing policies and systems already in place to help the LGUs of Northern Palawan become more business-friendly and competitive towards recovery from Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the area in 2013. These included development plans and documents related to sustainable tourism and environmental management.

All the municipalities in the Calamianes Groups of Islands also had designated Municipal Tourism Officers, with Coron and Busuanga both having Municipal Tourism Codes. However, only Coron had a Local Investments and Incentives Codes (LIIC) in place. Moreover, there remained a need to improve the capabilities of the Local Economic and Investment Promotion Officers (LEIPOs) in all the municipalities of the cluster.

In addition, as tourist arrivals in the Calamianes have been increasing, the LGUs, including the Provincial Government of Palawan, recognize that growth in tourism also represents a threat to the area’s highly sensitive and vulnerable natural 1

http://www.dti.gov.ph/rog/index.php/region01-regionalprofile-4

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environment. More and more establishments, such as hotels and restaurants are rapidly being built within Coron town. The absence of proper waste segregation and disposal, sewage treatment in the towns, and tourist regulatory policies are posing a huge threat to the region's natural resources, which are its main attractions.

II.

The Tourism Circuit

The Department of Tourism (DOT), in its 2011-2016 National Tourism Development Plan, set out a number of tourism development areas (TDAs) across the country. Northern Palawan, or the Calamianes Group of Islands, is one of 77 TDAs across the Philippines, where much of the DOT’s resources have been focused. Calamianes is among the top eco-tourism destinations of the country. It is a cluster of islands located at the northernmost tip of the province of Palawan known for its endemic wildlife, limestone forests, coral reefs, and shipwrecks.

Tourism Access and Infrastructure The Francisco Reyes airport located in Busuanga serves as the air gateway for tourists from Manila and Puerto Princesa to the attraction sites of Calamianes There are also boats from Manila that go to Puerto Princesa via Coron, a much cheaper alternative to air transport. For tourists coming from El Nido and Mindoro, large outrigger boats are an option. However, trips between El Nido and Coron are frequently cancelled during the rainy season.

Electricity is available in Busuanga, Coron, and Culion although the supply is sometimes limited. In Culion and Linapacan, electricity runs for only 12 hours per day. A number of resorts are not connected to the main grids and need to run their own power generators. Water supply exists in all four municipalities; however, as with power supply, it is limited especially in Culion and Linapacan. Many resorts have to source their own water since they are not connected to the main water pipeline.

Communication and Internet facilities are available in many areas within the Calamianes circuit, but the network connection is poor in most islands. Solid waste management is another problem among tourism establishments as there are no existing infrastructure for this purpose.

Tourism Service Center Coron serves as the main tourism service center for the tourism destination area. Most of the area’s accommodation establishments, tour operators, dive shops, and other facilities can be found in Coron. Out of the 93 accommodation establishments, 65 were situated in Coron. There were eighteen (18) souvenir shops exist in Calamianes, many of which were situated in Coron.

Major Attraction Sites Calamianes currently offers various tour products including island hopping tours, wreck diving tours, expedition trips, live aboard trips, and safari tours, among others. These can be clustered into three sub-circuits within the island group.

The Coron-Busuanga Highway primarily covers land-based ecotourism and adventure tourism-based sites and activities on Busuanga Island, the biggest island in Calamianes. The most popular of these activities involve a visit to Calauit Island, which offers visitors a safari experience with herds of free-ranging zebras, giraffes, and other exotic animals. Originally imported to Calauit from the African continent by former President Ferdinand Marcos, these animals have since adapted to the Calamianes and have made Calauit Island one of the must-visit sites of the TDA. The Wrecks and Reefs Domain is the cluster most associated today with the Calamianes Islands. Coron Island is the main attraction, complemented by popular sites on it such as Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoons, and Banol Beach, and a scattering of islands and lagoons ideal for snorkelling and diving. Coron is one of four areas identified by DOT as a prime diving destination for macro photography. The LGU-managed marine protected areas and the World War II shipwrecks are popular attractions for divers as well.

The Seafarers' Route, which originates in Coron Town and extends to Culion, and Linapacan, is the newest and least developed of Calamianes tourism circuits. Culion is an emerging historic destination of the TDA, with new tour products being developed based on its history as a colony for people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Local stakeholders and historians are now developing special interest tours similar to the Father Damien tours in Hawaii, that celebrate the lives and struggles of Hansenites, their families, and the community (including the Jesuits, doctors, and social workers assigned to Culion) which grew around them. In addition, Linapacan is an emerging attraction for sailing and other nautical excursions.

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Market Trends and Opportunities From 2008 and 2014, visitor arrivals in the Calamianes have surged from 13,849 to 100,946 with a cumulative annual growth rate of 45.91%. There was a noticeable slowing of the growth rate of visitor arrivals to Palawan in 2013 when tourist arrivals increased by a relatively smaller percentage of 8.1%. This may be attributable to growth constraints arising from the area’s limited airport infrastructure, as well as capacity limitations of the domestic air industry as a whole.

III.

Challenges to Local Economic Development

Super Typhoon Yolanda affected 80,000 individuals and displaced over 5,000 from their homes on November 2013.

Damages to properties, lifeline and communication facilities, agriculture, fisheries, and transportation amounted to P2 billion.

Calamianes was one of the areas hit by the disaster, which affected its tourism industry. Nonetheless, stakeholders in the Northern Palawan tourism sector emphasized that tourism recovery efforts in the Calamianes must continue to follow the principles of sustainable development and environmental sustainability. The immediate challenge for the tourism sector in Northern Palawan was to regain the tourism growth and investment momentum of Coron and Busuanga that were stunted by Yolanda through enabling policies and programs.

At the same time, Calamianes tourism stakeholders realized the need to strengthen and diversify their current portfolio of tourism products in order to encourage tourists to extend their visits and increase their spending in the area. More options for land-based activities, particularly in and around the main island of Busuanga may also address the issue of seasonality given the low arrivals during rainy season.

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Need to Improve the Business Climate for Tourism Investments in the Destination Tourism is the main economic driver in Northern Palawan. It is critical for the LGUs in Calamianes not only to become more business-friendly and supportive of tourism, but also to be unified in their approach to sustainable development for the entire cluster. Coron and Busuanga have adopted their Comprehensive Land Use Plans last March 19, 2013 and February 12,2002,respectively. Busuanga, Coron, Culion, and Linapacan have different municipal tourism codes and only Coron has a local investment incentive code (LIIC). In all four LGUs, business processing and licensing systems have neither been computerized nor streamlined yet.

With regards to disaster recovery from Yolanda, immediate deployment of resiliency efforts and programs from the government and several civil society organizations facilitated the swift transition of the region from recovery to rebuilding.

While the rebuilding was swift, the efforts exerted by these organizations were done independently. Thus, there would be a need for a platform to integrate the efforts and maximize resources for better planning of strategies for sustainability.

Gaps in the Tourism Circuit and Limited Potential for Growth Concentration of hotel rooms in Coron Although the total capacity of accommodations in the Calamianes is over 3,600, 77% of the rooms are located in Coron. This disparity in the available accommodations among the municipalities illustrates why tourists are concentrated in Coron. Taking advantage of this are investors and local entrepreneurs who hastily build accommodations in Coron town, which turn out to be substandard.

Limited capacity of Coron Airport, unreliable power supply constrain potential for growth.

The Francisco Reyes airport in Busuanga has two key impediments related to its growth capacity — (1) its short runway limits passenger services to propeller driven aircrafts (typically with a maximum load of 50 passengers); (2) the airport does not yet have navigational systems, that would allow night landings and take-offs (NLTO). The upgrade of the airport for NLTO capabilities is already in the pipeline, which will lead to an increase in the number of flights per week. However, the short runway length still poses a real obstacle to major growth in tourist arrivals.

Reliable and affordable power is another critical infrastructure concern. This had already been a problem in Palawan, particularly in Northern Palawan, even before Yolanda. Power outage is still a common occurrence, especially during typhoon season and the summer, due to the high number of tourists in town. Moreover, electricity supply in Culion and especially Linapacan is still limited.

Need to diversify tourist products and sites for more inclusive and sustainable development Coron is strongly identified with snorkelling, scuba diving, and other marine-based activities. Its association with wreck diving is a unique selling point for Coron. However, the lack of land-based activities as well as the current concentration of tour products around Coron Island may limit the opportunities for broadening the area’s target markets. The lack of tourism product diversity may also discourage visitors from exploring and spreading the benefits of tourism to other parts of the island group. Moreover, if Coron and Busuanga continue to bring more visitors to the same attractions sites (e.g. Coron Island and Calauit Island) every year, that volume will quickly strain the carrying capacities of these environmentally-sensitive resources.

Limited capacity for tour handling and guiding The number of tour guides in Calamianes, 80 as of 2013, is not enough for the rising tourist arrivals in the area. Most of the tour guides have not had proper training in guiding techniques, nature interpretation, environmental sustainability, marine safety, and emergency response. There is also a growing need to train guides in emerging and specialized tours, such as birding, trekking, mangrove tours, and dugong watching.

No brand specifically for Northern Palawan Prior to the Project, there was no unifying brand and destination-marketing program for Northern Palawan that the private sector and the LGUs could rally around. Given the wealth of islands and sun-and-sea destinations in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, it is important for Northern Palawan to establish a brand that clearly defines what makes it different from the rest.

IV.

Description of the Local Project

Although Palawan is currently dubbed as the ‘Number 1 Island in the World,’ the slow increase in tourist arrivals in the Calamianes after Typhoon Haiyan has noticeably affected the local economy. The LGSP-LED Project has taken an approach LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 6

to developing the tourism competitiveness in its local projects– tourism circuit development. The idea is to assist enterprises in the tourism value chain to add value to the tourism products and services being offered to the market by enhancing visitor experience through developing or collaborating for more varied activities, quality goods, additional excursions, and improved facilities to increase tourist stays and spending.

At the same time, the Project also provides support to the LGUs in improving their business-friendliness and competitiveness to accelerate investments, initiate employment generation activities and formulate local business-enabling policies and development plans to spur local economies o attract investments.

The diagram below illustrates how the project was designed to address this issue, through various LED activities in different key areas of tourism circuit development.

Summary of Project Target Results

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Project Management Project Implementation Team The Provincial Government of Palawan’s Local Project in Northern Palawan poses an interesting logistical challenge for all the partners. The DILG Regional Project Management Team, as with the CEA, holds office in Quezon City. The Provincial Government, as well as the DILG Provincial Office, is in the provincial capitol of Puerto Princesa City. As such, all members of the Project Implementation Team (PIT), with the exception of a representative from the Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments (CATE), are all based in Puerto Princesa.

However, this initial management was difficult for project implementation given that there are very limited, and expensive, options for direct air travel between Puerto Princesa and Coron. Similarly, sea travel between Puerto Princesa and Coron is time consuming and inefficient.

In response, the DILG Regional Project Management Team and LGSP-LED supported the Palawan PIT in organizing a working group in the project site, particularly in Coron. In addition to the official CATE representative to the PIT, the local working group also includes additional identified champions from the private sector, as well as the tourism officers of Coron, Busuanga, and Culion. DILG also designated their cluster leader for Northern Palawan, currently the Municipal Local Government Operations Officer (MLGOO) for Busuanga, to be the LED Focal Person for the Calamianes who will work directly with the local working group. LGSP-LED also engaged a local project coordinator based in Coron to support the day-to-day technical needs of the project. Palawan’s LGSP-LED Project Manager continues to supervise the local work directly, and in partnership with the president of CATE. As a result of new management arrangements, the local working group and the Project Manager have been able to plan and implement activities more efficiently. These included the workshop to develop LGU Workforce Development Plans, as well as the most recent activity for a stakeholder-driven destination branding workshop for the Calamianes.

Calamianes Working Group

Project Implementation Team (PIT) Ms. Maribel Buñi, PIT Manager –

Maribel Buñi

Ms. Buni is the Provincial Tourism Officer of Palawan. She is based in Puerto Princesa, but travels to Coron for the activities

Francisco Fernandez

Ms. Nimfa Rubio, OIC Provincial Planning and Development Office

Daniel Florida, MLGOO – Busuanga and DILG LED Focal Person for Northern Palawan cluster

Mr. Franquito Paduga, OIC Office of the Provincial Agriculturist

Hilbert Enriquez, Vice-President - CATE

Ms. Anna Lissa Barroma, OIC Provincial Economic Enterprise Development Office and designated Local Economic and Investment Promotion Officer (LEIPO)

Al Linsangan, Society for Sustainable Tourism and Development, Inc. (SSTDI)

Ms. Deborah W. Tan, President – Palawan Tourism Council

Kristine Mechelle Ablana, Tourism Officer - Coron

Mr. Francisco Fernandez, President – Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments (CATE)

Ma. Czarwen Torio, Tourism Officer – Culion

Felixberto Ramos, Tourism Officer – Busuanga

Kristine Amar Torres, LGSP-LED Project Coordinator

DILG Project Management Team Regional PMT

Provincial PMT

Dir. James Fadrilan, OIC Regional Director

Dir. Mario Daquer, Provincial Director

Asst. Dir. Karl Rimando, OIC Asst. Regional Director

Roel Dagsa, Provincial LED Focal Person

Ivan Fadri, Regional LED Focal Person

Daniel Florida, MLGOO – Busuanga and Cluster leader for Northern Palawan

Ma. Teresita G. Iglesia, LPRAP Regional Focal Person

Key Partners Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments (CATE). Programs and projects of CATE include the empowerment of tourism stakeholders and enterprises through human resource and development trainings. It also conducted training programs with the Department of Tourism, which were funded by the Government of Canada, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as administration agency. CATE was also a major proponent in the formulation of Coron’s Tourism Code. In addition, CATE is planning on carrying and promoting the Calamianes brand, which was developed during LGSP-LED’s workshop on destination branding.

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USAID Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH). ECOFISH is a five-year project, which focuses on “conserving biological diversity, enhancing ecosystem productivity, and restoring the profitability of fisheries” in eight marine key biodiversity areas (MKBAs). The Calamianes Group of Islands (CGI) is among these MKBAs. Among the projects of ECOFISH in the Calamianes are the integrated fisheries and management plan; preservation of Siete Pecados as a Marine Protected Area; and enterprise development, such as sea cucumber ranching, sea salting, and an ecotourism village in Banuang Daan on Coron Island.

International Labor Organization (ILO). In response to the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Calamianes, the ILO through the support of the Government of Norway and Japan has implemented several sustainable livelihood recovery projects in the CGI. The “Coron Sawali Livelihood Development Project” is a collaboration between ILO and the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies Inc. (PHILSSA). This project resulted in the government registration of the Guadalupe Sawali Weavers association, which employs 82 workers (39 female and 43 male) and 46 sawali weavers (25 female and 20 male).

ILO and PHILSSA’s, project site for the Guadalupe Sawali Weavers production center is one of the sites included in the tourism circuit. ILO provided their database of trainees/beneficiaries (including the skills sets they have acquired from training) to CATE for possible job matching. This has also been provided to the PESO Managers during their workforce development planning and for uploading to their respective skills registry systems.

Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies Inc. (PHILSSA). “Angat, Calamianes!” is PHILSSAs project on “Integrated Community Rehabilitation, Preparedness and Resilience” for the CGI. In partnership with the Palawan Advocates for Good Governance and Empowerment (PAGE) and Coron Rural Waterworks and Sanitation Association (CRWSA), PHILSSA focuses on communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan as it exited the CGI to the West Philippine Sea. A total of 1,215 families were provided with Emergency Shelter Assistance, including those living in remote communities in the municipalities of Culion and Linapacan. PHILSSA and ILO are currently working with the Balik Calauit Movement (BCM) in developing an organic farm and a school of living tradition, both identified as potential sites that will strengthen and diversify the Northern Palawan tourism circuit.

V. Project Results and Assessment Improving the Enabling Environment for Business Recovery in Northern Palawan Within the short period of the LGSP-LED Local Project, the Northern Palawan LGUs as well as the Provincial Government of Palawan have made progress towards their goal of institutionalizing LGU policies on LED, especially those in line with DILG’s roadmap for business-friendly and competitive LGUs. From the the start of the Local Project in 2014, LGSP-LED trained a total of 53 (27M, 26F) LGU leaders and staff with LED functions — including 4 LEIPOs, 4 LCEs as well as their staff – to champion the adoption of business-friendly policies and programs in the Provincial Government as well as the Northern Palawan LGUs. Status of LGU Officials and Technical Staff Trained Male LCEs 3 LEIPO and Staff 3 Tourism Officers and Staff 2 PESO Managers and Staff 0 Other LGU Staff 19 TOTAL 27

Female 1 1 6 2 16 26

Total 4 4 8 2 35 53

Provincial Offices with LED mandates are now better prepared to support the LED initiatives of the Northern Palawan LGUs. As members of the Local Project Implementation Team, both the Provincial Tourism Officer and the Provincial LEIPO have gained valuable experience in both planning and implementing LED-enabling programs.

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The Provincial Tourism Officer, for example, is better equipped to oversee and support the sustainable development of the Northern Palawan tourism circuits through knowledge and tools gained from the LGSP-LED activities such as the tourism circuit planning approach to destination development, market-responsive, stakeholder driven processes for building destination brands, and enhanced tourism statistics and information systems for monitoring and analyzing the performance of the local tourism sector.

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Similarly, the Provincial LEIPO has been provided with skills training and tools (e.g. LGU investment profiles and project briefs) for investment promotion. But more significantly, participation in various investment promotion events in Manila and LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 9

Davao have provided opportunities for the LEIPO to apply her new skills and gain real world experience in building and cultivating investor relations.

At the destination level, the Northern Palawan LGUs have been working to install key enabling programs and policies, in line with DILG’s roadmap to business-friendliness and competitiveness for LGUs. Already, the municipality of Coron has officially adopted an automated business permits and licensing system (auto-BPLS), which was installed with technical assistance from e-Governance for Municipal Development (eGov4MD)t2.

Although the Project also targeted Busuanga and Culion for BPLS automation, the independent assessment of eGov4MD indicated that they were not yet ready for full computerization. Coron first utilized their auto-BPLS system in January 2016 in time for the annual period for renewal of local business permits. According to the Business Permits and Licensing Office staff, the computerization enabled a quicker, more accurate, and effective tracking of businesses in the municipality.

Ironically, even as the BPLO reports growing numbers of registrations from tourism-related establishments, the total number of business registrations from January to March 2016 dropped from roughly 2,000 in the previous year to about 1,650.

Nevertheless, the BPLO has claimed that local revenue from the business permits actually increased. Both of these observations may be partly explained by higher business registration fees set by the municipality. With more businesses. As more local businesses report higher gross sales, the LGU is able to charge them with higher business permit fees (which, in turn, are computed more quickly and transparently by the automated system). However, the BPLO staff theorize that the stricter regime may have also led many micro- to small enterprises to opt against renewing their business permits.

Legislative-Executive teams from Coron, Busuanga, and Culion, drafted 3 new or updated LIICs for their respective LGUs with technical inputs from LGSP-LED and LGA. These LIICs incorporate sustainable development and disaster risk reduction considerations, in line with Palawan’s sustainable development agenda and the CCA-DRRM/environmental sustainability. The bills have already been filed with the respective local legislative councils. However, it appears very likely that these bills will not be approved before the May 2016 local elections. Should that come to pass, these draft LIIC are expected to be among the first bills to be re-submitted when the next set of local officials take office in July.

Despite these positive developments, there were also some missed opportunities to further enhance the business enabling environment in Northern Palawan, within the span of the LGSP-LED engagement.

One of these was the failure to operationalize a planned Calamianes Business Center as an office to support MSME growth and business recovery in the Calamianes, with Coron as the hub.

The Center was seen as a potential mechanism for harmonizing the common LED, tourism and investment promotion interests of the four LGUs and their private sector partners into one destination-based program/office. At the same time, the Center could be a platform for the convergence of NGA, NGO, and donor programs and services in support of business recovery and expansion for businesses, community-based enterprises, and entrepreneurs in the four municipalities of Northern Palawan. The Local Project team had identified the current location of the Coron Tourism Office as the most viable location for such a Center. However, unresolved matters related to the ownership of the building as well as the land on which it stands, made that option unfeasible for the moment.

However, the local private sector manifested strong interest in the project, as one local entrepreneur offered free office space at the Coron Galeri building to serve as a temporary “desk” for the CBC through which the LGSP-LED local project team facilitated convergence activities with other development partners. In this line, the Local Project explored opportunities for coordinating the tourism circuit development LED Initiative with the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Management Plan for Northern Palawan (developed by the 4 LGUs with assistance from USAID EcoFish) particularly where the SFMP addresses marine protected areas and Tagbanua communities linked to the tourism circuits.

We have learned last February 2016 that there was also an apparently mutual interest from DTI to the extent that in July 2015, they donated computers, audio-visual equipment, and furniture to the Municipal Government of Coron for the establishment of a Negosyo Center to service the cluster. However, most of the equipment remain in storage as the LGU has not yet found a suitable location for the Negosyo Center. While the current location of the Calamianes Business Center is too small for a fullblown Negosyo Center, it could have been adequate for slightly scaled-down operations focusing on business name registration and basic business advisory services. Unfortunately, these two complementary initiatives were never linked and 2

The Local Project had also targeted Busuanga and Culion for automation of their respective BPLS. However, eGov4MD’s independent assessment of the 2 other municipalities indicated that Busuanga and Culion were not yet ready for full computerization at this time.)

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coordinated with each other – an apparent demonstration of weak communication and convergence among agencies, as well as within the LGU. As LGSP-LED exits, DILG Province signified to lead in linking DTI with the Municipal Government of Coron to operationalize the center. The failure of the Northern Palawan LGUs to meet the deadline for workforce development plans to be proposed for funding under DILG’s Training for Better Access to Jobs (TRABAJO) program could also be considered as another significant missed opportunity.

Admittedly, the very short period given to the LGUs to complete the requirements as well as the unfortunate timing of the call for proposals – at the end of December 2015, when many key leaders and signatories were already on holiday break – constrained their ability to comply with the TRABAJO requirements.

The Provincial Government of Palawan as well as the Municipal Governments of Coron and Culion were eventually able to complete the LGU Business Plans for Workforce Development and other documentary requirements to the DILG Regional Office in February 2016, well past the December 30, 2015 deadline. As the TRABAJO funds are no longer available to them, the LGUs and their private sector partners will now have to fund these workforce development plans themselves or seek assistance from funding windows of other NGAs or development partners.

On May 25-26, representatives of the LGUs of Busuanga, Coron, Culion and Linapacan, along with members of the Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments (CATE) took part in the "LGU Business Planning Workshop on Workforce Development," facilitated by our partners in the DILG.

Early planning and implementation of the workforce development and site development activities had been coordinated through series of meetings with key players of the Yolanda Recovery and Rehabilitation Livelihood cluster, particularly Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), ILO, and PHILSSA, to facilitate the linkage of their beneficiaries to the mainstream tourism sector (starting with CATE members). A similar process might be adopted by the LGUs again.

Finally, the Provincial and Municipal Tourism Offices have also been re-trained and equipped with new computers and software to enhance their abilities to collect and analyze tourism statistics and information. Despite these, the Coron Tourism Office, which has the most numbers of tourism establishments to monitor, is still challenged to collect tourism data from business owners who remain wary and distrustful of how the local and national government agencies will use their information. Both LGU Tourism Office and CATE agree on that last point.

Strengthening Northern Palawan for Tourism and Economic Growth Overall, Northern Palawan or Calamianes now appears to be a more competitive tourism destination and industry even compared to its pre-Yolanda position. Accessibility into the Calamianes through the Franciso B. Reyes airport and the Coron Town Pier has improved. In early 2015, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific only had two flights per day. However, towards the end of the year, Cebu Pacific added one to two more flights per day, depending on the demand. SkyJet now flies daily to Coron as well. For sea travel, 2Go Travel now has two trips from Manila to Coron (continuing to Puerto Princesa) and back.

Atienza Shipping Lines has maintained their two trips per week. In late March or early April 2016, the M/V Montenegro will begin operating daily fast-craft ferry services between Coron and El Nido, cutting travel time almost by half, from 7 to only 4 hours. Access to Busuanga from the airport, as well as from Coron town, is also much improved with new and improved road LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 11

connections which have encouraged, among others, independent travelers who ride motorcycles from Coron to stay an extra night or two in Busuanga.

The Provincial Government of Palawan, in partnership with the LGUs in the Calamianes Islands, and the local tourism industry, represented by the Palawan Tourism Council and the Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments (CATE) has developed one (1) Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit Development Plan integrating the three sub-circuits: • The Reefs and Wrecks sub-circuit: covering the sites and activities currently being promoted by the stakeholders, primarily involving the lakes and attractions on Coron Island as well as the lagoons, reefs, shipwrecks, and marine protected areas between Busuanga and Coron Islands.

• The Busuanga Island sub-circuit for the land-based cultural and natural attractions/activities on Busuanga Island (Coron and Busuanga) as well as Calauit Island, and • The Culion-Linapacan nautical sub-circuit: the emerging sub-circuit that links the historic and natural attractions of Culion and Linapacan to the service center of Coron.

With a tourism circuit plan in place and experience from LGSP-LED, the Provincial and Municipal LGUs, with the private sector (i.e. CATE and the Palawan Tourism Council) have a guide on the product development, destination marketing, workforce development, and investment priorities for the sustainable tourism development of Calamianes moving forward.

New Destination Brand for the Calamianes To unite the LGUs in the Northern Palawan tourism circuit, a stakeholder-driven destination brand and tagline was developed through technical assistance from LGSP-LED. The new destination brand for Calamianes, “Nature. Adventure. And all the Rest” can be a strong building block for the TDA’s continued growth and sustainable development. It unites the stakeholders from the four municipalities into one new point of reference for identifying it in the tourism market. Already, the LGUs of Coron, Busuanga, and Culion have passed resolutions to endorse and adopt the brand. More importantly, CATE and its member establishments are now beginning to use the brand alongside their individual marketing materials and collaterals.

Some are already planning to develop tourist merchandise, e.g. mugs and t-shirts, using the new brand.

In this regard, CATE and the new counterpart association of tourism establishments in Busuanga will not only be key partners of the LGUs, but also key champions of LED and sustainable tourism . As members of the local Project Implementation Team (PIT), CATE (as an institution, and through its individual members) has already been demonstrating their ability to plan and implement LED initiatives in line with the Tourism Circuit Plan for Calamianes.

The Calamianes logo showcases the attractions of the islands through symbols such as the dugong, a tropical bird, a shipwreck anchor, and a sea star surrounded by grains of sand — all contained in a red-orange sun, embraced by the letter C – with the names of the four Calamianes municipalities listed on a line below the sun.

The visuals are rendered in a rough, primitive style (as if painted on a rough stone surface) to capture the primal beauty of nature, which is the essence of Calamianes The tagline accompanying the logo is, “Nature.

Adventure. And all the REST,” where the word “rest” can be taken literally, as well as figuratively (e.g. other tourism themes such as indigenous culture, history, food, etc.)

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Taking off from the LGSP-LED Tourism Circuit Plan, CATE members have now started small initiatives to develop alternative or complementary activities and attraction sites to the standard island-and-lake-hopping itineraries currently offered in Coron.

These include more land-based packages for birdwatching, farm tourism, river cruise, and inland ecotourism activities around Busuanga Island, as well as new island activities with stronger cultural and social themes such as community immersion or volunteer activities. CATE was also an active partner of the the Local Project in developing and finalizing the new Calamianes destination brand, as well as in formulating the local workforce development plans of the Northern Palawan LGUs. Equally important to their work in support of their members, CATE can play an impo rtant role in elevating critical concerns of the sector and the community as a whole to the attention of the LGU. These issues include problems with sewage and sanitation, tourist safety, proliferation of illegal drugs, etc., especially in the key sites and communities within the tourism circuits.

With regard to workforce development, although the LGUs were unable to meet the DILG deadlines for funding various skills training activities through the TraBaJo program, the municipalities of Coron, Culion, and Linapacan still have LGU Workforce Development Plans as building blocks for ensuring that quality human resources for tourism are in place over the next few years. Equally important, the training priorities in these plans were identified by private sector partners who have demonstrated their own initiatives for workforce development even beyond LGSP-LED. CATE was able to secure two grants for series of trainings to enhance the skills of their members’ frontline supervisors and staff from the ADB/Canada-funded Competitiveness in Tourism (CIT) program of the DOT. The restaurant sub-group within CATE was also successful in securing a CIT grant to train chefs and other kitchen staff from 10 local dining establishments.

Another CATE member, through the Society for Sustainable Tourism Development, Inc. (SSTDI) – with minimal technical advise and coordination support from LGSP-LED – partnered with the Bantay Turista program of the Provincial Government’s DRRM Office, to conduct tour guide and emergency response training for 30 Tagbanua boat operators and site guides (all participants, male) in Brgy. Lajala in March and May 2016. These will be followed by a similar series of guiding with emergency response trainings for community-based attraction sites in Busuanga to be scheduled sometime after June.

Progress Towards Economic Recovery and Tourism Growth Overall, the Provincial Government of Palawan, together with the LGUs of Calamianes and their private sector and other development partners, have generally accomplished their goal of strengthening Northern Palawan as a destination, with a clear, well-established tourism brand. The indicators suggest that local conditions in Northern Palawan, post-Yolanda are already more conducive to local economic development.

Visitor Arrivals It is unfortunate that the data on annual visitor arrivals to Calamianes for 2015 are not available. However, based on the data from the previous years, the Northern Palawan destinations appear to be meeting their target of an average annual growth rate of 10% in visitor arrivals per year, at minimum. Visitor arrivals to the area increased to 100,926 in 2014, or a 10.23% increase from the previous year. The 2014 figure also translates to an average annual growth rate for visitor arrivals to Northern Palawan of 14.47% since 2011. Visitor arrivals to the area may be expected to grow at an even faster rate with the expansion in capacity from the upgrade of the airport as well as the expected increase commercial hotel room supply in the coming years.

Tourism-Related Investments Generated Since the start of the project in 2014, the Provincial Government has facilitated the infusion of an estimated PHP 480 million for public investments in tourism infrastructure for Northern Palawan, primarily for construction or upgrade of tourism roads.

These priority projects are in line with the infrastructure priorities identified in the Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit Plan, which, in turn, had validated the recommendations for the TDA in the National Tourism Development Plan. These projects are: • PhP 250 Million Coron-Busuanga road leading to Busuanga airport, Coron, and Calauit Island • PhP 150 Million Access road to the jump-off point to Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary • PhP 80 Million Road connecting Busuanga airport-Kiwit road leading to various beaches, island destinations and World War II ship wreck dive sites In addition, there have been noticeable investments in new accommodation facilities of varying types around Coron and Busuanga since 2014. The table below summarizes information shared with the Project by hotel development consultants familiar with the current competitive situation in the Coron hotel sector. Based on the consultant’s environmental scanning data, at least 269 new rooms have been added to the supply of accommodations in Coron from 2014 to 2016. Another 243

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new rooms are expected from 5 new hotel properties currently under construction in Coron. Including the ongoing projects, the total value of new hotel investments in Coron since 2014 is estimated to be worth at least PhP 568.5 Milion.

New Investments in Accommodation Establishments, Coron (2014-2016) Establishment Classification

Corto del Mar (2014) The Funny Lion Inn (2015) One Averee Bay Hotel (2015) Bluewave Hotel (2015) Bancuang Mansion (2015) Coron Soleil Garden Resort* Coron Soleil Express Hotel* Two Seasons Coron Bayside Hotel* Le Soleil De Coron* Sunlight Hotel* Miscellaneous (2014-2016) TOTAL

No. of Rooms

Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel Resort Hotel Hotel

32 32 28 14 12 27 29

Resort Hotel Various (tourist inn,pension house, lodge)

76 63 139 500

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Estimate Value of investment (construction only) 32,000,000 32,000,000 14,000,000 14,000,000 12,000,000 43,500,000 40,500,000 96,000,000 152,000,000 63,000,000 69,500,000 568,500,000

Estimated Employment 32 32 28 14 12 20 20 60 95 63 66 442

under construction as of March 2016 a - Consultant estimates based on standard local construction cost per room, classification, hotel facilities, and room amenities b - Consultant estimates based on local average workers per room, classification, and hotel amenities

New jobs created The employment impact of the new investments can be estimated using standard ratios of worker per room. According to consultants familiar with current practices in the Coron hotel sector, smaller accommodation establishments such as pensions, lodges, and tourist inns employ an average of 1 worker for every 2 to 4 rooms for an employment per room ratio of 0.25 to 0.5. On the other hand, given their higher service standards, hotels and resorts in Coron typically employ 1 to 1.25 people per room. Based on these local industry standards, it is estimated that the new hotel investments from 2014 to the present would result in the creation of at least 442 new jobs for residents of Coron.

Crosscutting Themes Gender Equality LGSP-LED assisted LGU tourism offices in conducting a survey of Calamianes tourism establishments (accommodations, restaurants, souvenir shops, spas, dive shops, tour operators) to update the information in the Tourism Circuit Plan for Northern Palawan (also developed with LGSP-LED support, including that related to the current levels of employment for men and women in the Calamianes Islands. The most recent survey reveals that the total number of their female employees is 926, while male employees have a total of 998. Although there is only a small difference in total numbers, there are significant differences in the numbers by type of tourism establishment. More women are employed in restaurants, souvenir shops, and spas, while dive shops report significantly greater numbers of male employees.

Accommodations Restaurants Souvenir Shops Spas Dive Shops Tour Operators Total

Number of Female Employees 547 236 27 46 19 51 926

No. of Male Employees 631 197 11 3 112 44 998

Total 1178 433 36 49 131 96 1924

The Tourism Circuit Plan (TCP) identified a need to develop and diversify more land-based activities and sites in Busuanga Island. The current gender profile of workers in Northern Palawan suggests that these new types of tourist businesses and activities will likely have more jobs for women particularly in the front-line, customer service positions such as farm guides, spa attendants, food service, etc. In addition, increased visitor interest in more immersive and authentic cultural experiences (e.g.

Tagbanua cultural community visits) may heighten the central roles of women in production of arts and craft, traditional LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 14

hospitality, and cultural interpretation. The Calamianes Expeditions’ new tour which includes Brgy. Lajala showcases the traditional Tagbanua lifestyle including activities traditionally performed by women (e.g. traditional coffee roasting, diving and harvesting of lato or sea grapes, meal preparation, etc.) These activities are not only demonstrated for visitors to learn from, they can be extended into micro- to small-enterprises whereby Tagbanua women are becoming suppliers of coffee and souvenirs, as well as caterers and providers of packed meals for their partner tour operators.

Gender is a key element in the poverty reduction agenda for the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Program for Northern Palawan, with the provision of increased opportunities for employment and livelihood for women as focal concern of various programs of the development partners in the Northern Palawan Livelihood Cluster The tourism circuit plan identified community-based projects for inclusion in the land-based sub-circuit in Busuanga Island.

The Guadalupe Sawali Weavers Association (GuSaWA), a people’s organization with mostly women members, was assisted

by ILO in setting up a production and product display center. USAID EcoFish’s planned project to start a community-based tourism activity and project in the Tagbanua community in Banuang Daan on Coron Island will have to be done with very high sensitivity to the social norms of the community, including the roles of women in the family as well within their society. Similar issues are present – and are recognized – in other community-based projects such as those of PHILSSA with the Balik Calauit Movement in collaborating with these development projects.

All of these projects and sites continue to be potential areas for convergence as the Provincial and Municipal LGUs seek to continue and expand the tourism circuit development activities initiated by the LGSP-LED Local Project. The Negosyo Center to be established by DTI in Coron and linked to the Calamianes Business Center can be the key platform or venue for this convergence.

Environmental Sustainability As visitors to Northern Palawan increase, the tourism sector is concerned about the relatively limited number of attraction sites that these tourists are being encouraged to visit. Higher volumes of visitors may strain the carrying capacities of popular sites, particularly those in the most common “Reefs-to-Wrecks” itineraries involving Coron Island. These include Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, and the Siete Pecados marine sanctuary. Thus, the Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit Plan has prioritized the development of alternative, land-based tours as a strategy to distribute and disperse visitor volumes to other sites in the Calamianes – even as measures are undertaken to manage the tourism activities in the current tourism circuits.

Participants of the Bantay Turista Training on Emergency Response for Tourism Community Guides in Coron, Palawan on March 17-19, 2016, conducted by PDRRMO.

The activity for tour guides in the Calamianes included training in environmental sustainability, as well as marine safety and emergency response. Convergence partners for the activity were the Palawan’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), through their “Bantay Turista” program, and the Society for Sustainable Tourism and LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 15

Development Inc. (SSTDI). The activity in Coron was the pilot run of the Province’s Bantay Turista program, which the PDRRMO intends to roll-out to all other destination clusters in Palawan following the May 2016 elections.

The USAID EcoFish Project has completed the Sustainable Fisheries Plan for the Calamianes Islands. This includes marine protected areas and other sites that are part of the identified tourism circuits

Poverty Reduction LGSP-LED’s Project in Northern Palawan has business recovery and expansion, especially in light of the impacts from the 2013 Supertyphoon Yolanda, as a central theme. Thus, the Local Team has engaged with partners from other development agencies and NGOs in Northern Palawan to explore opportunities for harmonizing their respective programs with the needs and concerns of the Northern Palawan tourism circuit. Through bilateral discussions as well as through regular meetings of the Livelihood Cluster of the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Program for Northern Palawan, the local partners have been exchanging plans and ideas with the LGSP-LED team on common priorities and concerns related to livelihood and economic recovery through sustainable tourism.

Livelihood cluster partners such as ILO, PHILSSA, USAID EcoFish, and DSWD Sustainable Livelihoods Program, participated in the workshop facilitated by DILG IV-B and LGSP-LED to formulate Workforce Development Plans for the Northern Palawan municipalities. Through this, the LGUs were able to incorporate the various post-disaster livelihood and enterprise development activities of these NGOs into their own workforce development plans. At the same time, NGOs and development partners were able to advise the LGUs on policy actions and programs to support the sustainability of the various LGU programs. Following the workshops, ILO provided the municipal PESO officers with data for their skills registry systems (SRS) on the residents who have completed ILO skills/livelihood training programs under its Yolanda recovery program for the area.

Because tourism is the key economic sector of the Calamianes, several members of the Livelihood Cluster have identified it as a key element of their own post-Yolanda livelihood and enterprise development priorities. The Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit Plan has enabled the Project Team to map out specific sites where there are opportunities for converging with the partners’ ongoing or planned projects in line with the development of alternative tours and/or enhancement of priority attractions. Among the ongoing projects that can be harmonized with the Local Project’s work on alternative land-based tours and sustainability of the Reefs to Wrecks tours are: ! ! !

USAID EcoFish’s livelihood projects with Tagbanua communities in Coron Island attraction sites as well as with fishing villages in Coron Town on establishing additional marine protected areas near Siete Pecados ILO’s Sawali Livelihood Development project in Brgy. Guadalupe which will be included in the alternative land-based tours The PHILSSA project with the Balik Calauit Movement to develop dugong-watching and other alternative activities in and around Calauit Island will also be integrated into the alternative tours around Busuanga Island

The development and promotion of new tours (as well as new activities within the existing Reefs to Wrecks packages) are also intended to link these community-based enterprises to the mainstream tourism sector of Northern Palawan. By doing so, these local enterprises will gain more potential visitors or clients who can support their future growth and sustainability. With the growing interest in cultural encounters and more immersive experiences with local residents being reported by local operators, more opportunities have been identified for indigenous Tagbanua people to benefit from new tour packages and services being developed.

In addition, once launched, the destination brand of the Calamianes will generate more interest in the region, leading to an increase in tourist arrivals and tours to all municipalities, and to these community-based enterprises in particular.

VI.

Lessons Learned

The experience of the LGSP-LED local project has been a learning experience for the Province of Palawan and the four municipalities of the Calamianes. Through the small victories as well as the missed opportunities from the past two years, the LGUs as well as DILG have gained insight on the key factors for LED success in Northern Palawan. The key lessons learned from the Calamianes Project experience are given below.

1. LED starts with a common understanding of the local economic conditions, opportunities, and challenges.

A seemingly self-evident lesson learned from the Local Project is that a good understanding of the current conditions and future prospects of the local economy is the essential first step in undertaking a LED Program or Project. However, LED LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 16

must be a multi-sectoral process involving LGUs, private sector, communities, and other stakeholder groups. For these various groups to work well together, they must have a common appreciation of the opportunities and challenges facing their local economy. The stakeholders must also agree on the possible strategies for achieving inclusive local economic growth, given these challenges and opportunities.

Thus, the lesson is not just about understanding the local economy but more about LGU, private sector, and other stakeholder groups, understanding it – together. This would then be the first step in planning and implementing the LED Project as a partnership-based undertaking of the LGUs, the private sector, and other partners.

2. A geographic cluster framework, like the Tourism Circuit, can promote multi-sectoral and inter-LGU partnerships for LED by facilitating the identification of common concerns as well as opportunities.

The tourism circuit plan heightened the importance of inter-LGU cooperation by graphically showing where the key LED interventions were most needed across the Calamianes as a whole. The TCP clearly showed how issues of infrastructure, environmental sustainability, tourism product development, destination marketing, and employment required regional economic solutions beyond any single municipality. Thus, the TCP emphasized how interdependent the municipalities of Northern Palawan are with each other.– including Linapacan, which was not officially part of the LGSP-LED project.

At the same time, the TCP also highlighted the roles and responsibilities of LGUs, NGAs, and the private sector in improving the competitiveness of the various tourism sites, as well as the enabling environment for business and investment around them. By doing so, the TCP also showed the specific areas where converged efforts of LGUs, NGAs, and/or private sector were most needed.

3. Developing LGU LED Champions is essential to successful LED Programs.

The LED Project will not move, or will not move as quickly, if the Governor does not fully appreciate the process of sustainable and inclusive LED. This is also true for Mayors at the city and municipal level, but Governors have an additional opportunity to encourage and support inter-LGU cooperation for LED. Thus, LCEs should be properly educated on LED as a strategy to reduce poverty and promote inclusive growth by becoming more business-friendly and competitive LGUs. The LCEs of the municipalities covered by the Project must then be oriented more specifically on the activities and target results of the LED Project. This is useful to ensure their buy-in as well as to encourage their assignment and empowerment of qualified, competent, and dedicated LED staff. Finally, regular updates and opportunities to participate in training, benchmarking, and other LED activities can sustain the LCE’s engagement and reinforce their role as LED Champions.

Given that LCEs rarely have free time on their schedules to take part in prolonged training activities, alternative learning methods for gaining knowledge on LED facilitation and business-friendliness can be used. These can include learning exchanges or peer mentoring programs, as well as workshops for producing specific BFCL policies and programs where they can learn-by-doing.

4. LGU LED Team members must be trained and qualified to become advocates for business-friendliness and inclusive LED within the LGUs. Well-qualified, trained, and motivated LEIPOs, LGU tourism officers, and PESO managers were key factors in driving their respective LGUs to complete the formulation or planning of business-friendly LGU policies and programs. The adoption and implementation of these policies, plans, and programs will also be dependent on these officers, as well as other LGU staff with LED-related mandates.

The LED Team of the LGU (both, provincial and municipal) must be the day-to-day champions/advocates for the LGU’s program for business-friendliness and LED competitiveness. Yet, key LGU offices with LED-related mandates such as LEIPO, Tourism Office, and PESO are still interim appointments with temporary offices and working budgets. These LED officers are more effective, and work better with each other, when they are confident in their mandates, their capabilities, and the support that they receive from their respective LGUs. Thus, agents for economic and tourism development within the LGUs such as LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, and PESO managers must be made permanent as quickly as possible, and officially supported with appropriate staff development and financial resources needed to implement sustainable LED and BFCL programs. They must be empowered to work closely with the LGU Planning and Development Offices as well as the frontline regulatory offices (e.g. BPLO) and to partner with the private sector on various LED initiatives.

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Strong Provincial LEIPO, Tourism, PESO, and Planning Offices are necessary to provide technical support and mentoring to their municipal counterparts, who may not have the same resources, experience, and institutional connections to NGAs and national or regional industry. At the same time, the Provincial LED Officers can facilitate cooperative activities or programs among the peer officers of LGUs in the circuit. This was the case with the Provincial Tourism Officer in leading the municipal tourism officers of Northern Palawan on various functions ranging from destination branding to the collection and analysis of tourism statistics and information.

5. Engaging the private sector in planning and implementing the LED Program Building can lead to a more businessfriendly, entrepreneurial mindset within the LGUs LGUs need to understand clearly the needs of private businesses and investors in order to design effective, responsive LED programs and services. The Tourism Office cannot determine the priority tourism product development and destination marketing needs of the circuit without inputs from private tourism establishments and tour operators. The LEIPOs must engage local proponents through the local business chamber in order to be ready with the investment information, identify the priority projects, and match them effectively with investors. PESO Managers cannot implement effective job-training and employment matching programs without partnering with the local employer sector to determine their anticipated workforce needs.

An organized private sector plays a key LED role in driving product development, marketing, and investment in tourism (or any other priority economic sector) as well as in partnering with the LGUs on important programs for tourism statistics, LED information, and workforce planning and development. The initiative and innovation of various CATE members in developing new tourist activities and attraction sites – inspired by the tourism circuit plan prepared together with the LGUs – illustrate how government can already enable private sector action with tools as basic as clear, market-oriented plans with strong stakeholder buy-in.

Strong collaboration with the private sector is not only a key factor for successful implementation of LED Activities. The exposure to private sector practices and perspectives can also strengthen the client-orientation of the LED Team (especially LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, and PESO Managers). At the same time, continuous implementation of the LED Program as a joint public-private undertaking helps clarify the enabling roles of the LGU vis-à-vis the local industry’s efforts to become more competitive and inclusive.

6. Convergence between Provincial and National Government Agencies is necessary for effective delivery of LED support services and programs, especially for relatively distant sites.

The Calamianes’ remote location and limited accessibility relative to the Provincial as well as Regional Centers limit the ability of Provincial as National Government Agencies to deliver LED support services in a timely manner to the LGUs. Thus, cooperation and mutual support among the LGUs of the cluster becomes even more necessary. In this regard, a strong cluster or team approach is critical to DILG’s ability to support the LGU LED programs in Northern Palawan (and similar destinations). Effective LED convergence among the many NGAs, NGOs, and donor programs already operating in (or being planned for) the area must be promoted through some established mechanism or arrangement in the cluster.

Related to this, LGU LED staff as well as DILG MLGOOs must be oriented to continuously monitor and scan the plans and activities of these institutions for opportunities for partnerships and cooperation.

VII.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The Local Project has been able to make significant progress towards creating a more enabling environment for sustainable development of the local economy, and particularly the tourism sector, among the LGUs of the Tourism Circuit. However, the work is far from complete, and there are many remaining opportunities not just to sustain but also to extend the gains of the Local Project beyond LGSP-LED. The key lesson learned from the Local Project is that the main role and responsibility of local government in advancing LED is to enable sustainable and inclusive local economic development to grow. It does this primarily by providing a local policy and public service environment that facilitates the efficient, effective, and ultimately profitable operations of local enterprises.

Another role for local governments is to support the growth and integrated development of its tourism enterprises (micro to large) as one competitive value chain operating across the circuit. In this role, the LGU continues to play an enabling position in functions such as business investment, product development, and workforce development where the private sector and other non-government players are more capable. However, the LGU can take a stronger leadership role in functions such as destination marketing and public infrastructure investments where the local private sector does not have the resources and/or interest in taking the lead.

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Thus, the main LED priorities for the LGUs remain : 1. Establishing, strengthening, and enhancing the effectiveness of local policies, plans, and programs for more business-friendly environments for sustainable and inclusive economic development, and 2. Supporting and engaging local businesses, including MSMEs and investors, in continuing to build a more competitive priority economic sector, i.e. local tourism industry.

In turn, DILG’s Regional and Provincial Offices must enable the LGUs to perform these enabling roles by: 1. Continuing to advocate, monitor, and provide incentives for LGUs to continue pursuing its roadmap for more business-friendly and competitive LGUs, while harmonizing the LED-related activities with relevant elements of the Department’s 3 other outcome areas (e.g. safety and social protection, transparency and accountability, disasterresilience), 2. Building the capacities for business-friendliness and competitiveness among LCEs and LGU staff through training programs and technical assistance, and 3. Facilitating convergence among Field Offices of other NGAs for better delivery to and access by LGUs of their own capacity development, technical assistance, and funding/resource support programs and services for LED.

Recommendations for Sustaining the LED-Enabling Environment in the LGU On the aspect of continuing the drive for improved business-friendliness and competitiveness of the LGUs, the general direction should be: 1) to strengthen and ensure the permanence, i.e. regular operations, of the key structures for LED promotion in the LGUs such as LEIPO and Tourism Office, and 2) to institutionalize the key LGU policies and programs for business-friendliness and support to competitive sectors.

Thus the main recommendations for continued and improved business-friendliness of the LGUs are : 1. Ensure that the Provincial and City/Municipal Governments have LEIPO, Tourism, and other LED-related Offices with full-time personnel and adequate resources. While all LGUs have designated LEIPOs and Tourism Officers, it is important that they be provided with budget, office, and personnel to effectively perform their investment promotion, business retentions, and MSME facilitation work. !

These offices can initially be established through Executive Orders, and eventually institutionalized through local legislation in partnership with the local legislature.

!

Include in the LGU budgets, sufficient funds and resources for the effective and harmonized operation frontline BFCL LGU offices such as BPLO (and Business-One-Stop-Shop), LEIPO, Tourism Office, PESO, Planning Office, etc. Funding for continuous technology improvement and staff development related to LED information systems (e.g. auto-BPLS, skills registry system, tourism statistics, land-use and hazard maps, agricultural statistics, etc.) should be included in these budgets, to the extent feasible.

!

Key areas for knowledge- and skill-building of LGU LED Officers include: "

data analysis and interpretation of LED data from BPLS, tourism statistics, local skills registry systems, landuse maps and data, as well as other information sets regularly collected by the LGUs. Capacity development can also be directed towards encouraging the regular sharing and joint analysis of these information by LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, Planning Officers, PESO managers, and other members of the LGU LED team.

"

Practical coaching and training on Investment promotion, investor handling, and relationship management for LEIPOs, with parallel orientation of LCEs if feasible.

"

Municipal tourism development planning for individual LGUs within the framework of the Northern Palawan tourism circuit. These sector specific plans should be well integrated into the CDPs and CLUPs of the 4 Calamianes municipalities.

2. The new or re-elected City and Municipal Local Chief Executives should work immediately with their respective Sangguniang Bayans to approve the new or updated Local Investment Incentives Codes (LIIC) formulated through the assistance of DILG and LGSP-LED by the municipalities of Coron, Busuanga, and Culion. Other legislative priorities may include: !

Formulation and adoption of LIIC should also be advocated for Linapacan.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 19

! !

Establishment and funding of permanent municipal tourism as well as LED and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) offices.

Updating of local tourism codes or business permitting regulations to encourage greater cooperation from tourism establishments in the collection of local tourism statistics

3. In addition the LGU Executive-Legislative teams should also prioritize the formulation and adoption of enabling LGU plans and policies for more inclusive, sustainable and socially-protective LED. These include the integration of the LED and tourism development plans with the CDP and CLUP, and other local regulatory measures. Among the priorities should be: !

! !

!

Integration of DRRM-CCA, including provisions related to LED and investment promotion, in subsequent updating of the Provincial Physical Framework Development Plan and the corresponding city/municipal CLUP and CDP. Development of protective enabling policies on human trafficking, child labor, and safe workplaces should be developed, using the TCP to identify key locations/sites for priority attention.

Building and infrastructure development should strictly conform to the existing Building Code, Environmental Policies and CCA-DRR plans. Zoning ordinances should be implemented strictly with emphasis on maintaining the required setbacks in coastal areas and river banks.

Strictly implement the requirements under the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System to ensure that developments are environmentally-compliant.

4. The Provincial Government should continue to work closely with the LGUs in the tourism circuit to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Development plan formulated through the assistance of LGSP-LED. !

!

!

In updating the plan, it is recommended that the LGUs should review and consider the adoption of site-specific recommendations from the USAID COMPETE Tourism Product Assessment of Coron and Busuanga, as well as the policy and site management recommendations related to Coron Island and marine protected areas (MPAs) from the USAID EcoFish Sustainable Agrifishery Plan for the Calamianes The Provincial Government and the partner cities/municipalities should coordinate with the DOT Regional Office to ensure that the priority infrastructure, site development, and institutional as well as human resource development needs for the circuit are integrated into the updated National Tourism Development Plan for 20162022.

The updating of the TCP should include a review disaster- and site-vulnerability issues and concerns affecting the Tourism Circuit.

5. The Provincial Government, with assistance from DILG, DTI, and DOT, should form a Local Economic Development (LED) Team to oversee the planning and implementation of LED Initiatives in the Province and the Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit in particular. The LED Team can be organized in a similar fashion to build on the project implementation and management arrangements for the LGSP-LED Project. ! !

!

!

The Governor should be the chair of the LED Team, providing overall policy direction, strategic advise and leadership to the team.

The core LED Team should include the LEIPO, the Provincial Tourism Officer, the PESO Manager, the Planning Officer, and the PDRRMO (in charge of Bantay Turista) as well as the Provincial Tourism Council and the Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to represent the private sector. As with the LED Project, one of these action officers may be designated as the LED Team Manager to oversee day-to-day LED concerns.

The DILG Provincial Director and the LED Focal Person should also be invited to the LED Team, as well as other NGA Provincial Offices, such as DTI, DENR, DOLE, DSWD, etc. with programs critical to the LED Agenda of the Province, and the Calamianes tourism circuit. However, the NGAs should officially designate their permanent and alternate members to the LED Team, with preference for the focal persons/action officers with direct involvement in key LED-related programs such as DTI Negosyo Center, DOST SET-UP, DSWD Sustainable Livelihoods Program, etc.

The Provincial LED Team together with the DILG Provincial Office should organize and provide technical assistance to a similarly-composed counterpart team from among the LED officers, NGA action officers, and private sector stakeholder (such as the Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments) in Northern Palawan.

6. The Provincial Government, in coordination with the Provincial Field Offices of NGAs, should consider the establishment of a satellite Government Center in Northern Palawan. Coron, as the trading and transportation hub, LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 20

would be the most realistic location for such a Center. Considering the logistical requirements for such a center, the agencies may also consider various cost-sharing or co-management arrangements to ensure the regular presence of field officers (if full-time appointments are not feasible). !

A Provincial Government-owned building in Coron (currently the site of the Coron Tourism Office) would be a conveniently-located venue for such a Center. However, the building still needs some repair and refurbishing from damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda.

!

Operationalizing the DTI Negosyo Center in Coron would create another platform for NGA convergence. MSMEsupport programs of other NGAs (e.g. DA, DOST, DOT) may be delivered or processed through the Negosyo Center if it is infeasible for these NGAs to maintain a permanent office in Coron.

!

The agencies can also aim to build on the convergence platforms created by the cluster organization framework of the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery program. Thus, the NGA convergence for LED in Northern Palawan may grow out of the Livelihood Cluster, which brought various NGOs and international agencies such as Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), ILO, PHILSSA, etc

DILG Regional and Provincial Offices can continue to lead the LGUs along the roadmap towards more business-friendly and competitive LGUs through the following: 1. Establish a “BFCL Team or Working Group” from among the Regional and Provincial technical staff to provide information, facilitate access to technical assistance and capacity development resources, and to monitor the streamlining of BFCL in LGU operations.

2. In coordination with LGA and the DILG Central Office, provide technical assistance and training for LGUs to fast-track the adoption and approval of key BFCL initiatives undertaken through the Local Project, specifically: ! Designation of LEIPOs and establishment of local economic development and investment promotions offices ! New or updated LIIC harmonized with new/updated LRC ! Institutionalization of LGU skills registry system ! Institutionalization of LGU tourism statistics and information systems 3. Combine advocacy with technical assistance and support – again, in coordination with LGA and DILG Central Office – for LGUs to harmonize their LED plans and programs with the updating/enhancement of their respective CDPs and CLUPs. In the process, DILG should emphasize the gender, social protection, poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and disaster-resiliency features of the 2 mother plans to ensure the mainstreaming of these themes in the LGUs LED plans and programs.

4. Support LGU efforts to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Plan by: !

!

!

!

Facilitating activities for CATE, COMPETE, EcoFish, DOT and other agencies with related plans to properly orient the Northern Palawan LCEs and their executive-legislative teams on the key LED and tourism circuit development plans, which they can adopt and integrate into the development plans and agenda of the new local administrations taking office in July 2016.

Ensuring that the LCEs and their LED teams are fully oriented, as part of the NEO program, on the key issues, priorities and recommendations from the TCP, as well as the updated 2017-2022 NTDP. The LGUs may then take up the relevant recommendations and concerns as part of their Executive-Legislative Agendas and various local development plans that they will be formulating.

Coordinating and facilitating the provision of technical assistance and coaching, through convergence, of technical assistance and coaching from DENR, DSWD, PCW, and other NGAs/development partners, so that the updated TCP and related municipal plans and programs continue to integrate issues and concerns related to gender equality especially the protection of women and children, environmental sustainability, and disaster risk reduction and management.

Facilitating coordination and communication with counterparts in the Regional Offices of partner NGAs, especially those without Provincial units such as DOT, to ensure effective, harmonized delivery of support services and programs for planning and implementing the various LED initiatives in the Calamianes

5. Facilitating the local planning processes so as to encourage inter-LGU coordination such that common LED and tourism concerns can be addressed in a coordinated manner across the circuit.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 21

!

Encouraging the LCEs and other LGU leaders to build on existing programs of cooperation such as the Northern Palawan Inter-Municipal Health Zone, and the USAID EcoFish project on sustainable agrifishery for the Calamianes leading to a similar program for LED and tourism

!

DILG MLGOOs can be instrumental in supporting inter-LGU coordination and cooperation, given that they themselves have been organized into one cluster with a designated Cluster Head (currently the MLGOO of Busuanga). The Regional and Provincial Offices should consider support and capacity development strategies for strengthening the team such that the member MLGOOs are empowered to act collectively, as champions for inter-LGU cooperation and NGA convergence in Northern Palawan.

Recommendations for Sustaining the Tourism Circuit Development and Sector Competitiveness Program Through the Local Project, the Provincial Government and its partners in Northern Palawan have implemented some initial activities to develop the Calamianes into a more attractive investment destination with a more competitive tourism circuit and industry. While there have been clear gains achieved to date, there are still many important issues to address for this progress to be sustained. More importantly, much work remains to be done in order to ensure that the growth from LED and tourism will become truly inclusive and beneficial to more people.

While the private sector should continue to drive the product development, business investment, and employment generation components of tourism circuit development, the Provincial and Municipal Governments must also continue to support and enable its private sector partners through: ! ! !

Direct public investments or facilitation of public-private partnerships (PPP) for LED-enabling infrastructure to improve accessibility (e.g. ports and roads) and cost of doing business (e.g. power, water, sewage, sanitation) Market-linkage programs and services to connect local communities, businesses, and products to market intermediaries, buyers, and investors through destination marketing and investment promotion activities and events.

Provision of LGU programs and systems to raise the supply and quality of available human resources in the tourism sector through effective workforce development planning, training and education, and job-employer matching – in partnership with the local industry.

In this regard, the main recommendations for LGUs to enable a more competitive and sustainable tourism sector in the TDA are: 1. Establish a Public-Private Team within the LED Team to focus on ensuring the funding and implementation of priority LED-enabling infrastructure projects identified in the TCP, as well as on organizing investment promotion events and activities to seek investors for priority investments to address competitiveness gaps in the tourism circuit (e.g. hotels and resorts, tourist transport, tourism estates, etc.) ! The Provincial LEIPO, in partnership with the Local Chamber, may organize regular (quarterly or twice a year) meetings with the Northern Palawan LEIPOs and CATE from the LGUs of the circuit to plan and coordinate investment promotion priorities and activities ! Investment promotion priorities, in line with the Northern Palawan TCP and the forthcoming update to the NTDP, will be for more dispersed, sustainable hotel development to other parts of Busuanga Island and transportation infrastructure, including inter-island service between Busuanga and the island-municipalities of Culion and Linapacan 2. Through the Provincial Tourism Office, and in partnership with CATE and other private sector institutions in Busuanga and Culion, design and implement a program for the full roll-out and market/industry launch of the “Calamianes.

Nature, Adventure, and all the Rest” brand. This Calamianes branding campaign should be integrated with the Province of Palawan’s “Every Island an Adventure” campaign.. !

!

Absent a Northern Palawan Visitors Bureau, the Provincial Tourism Office of Palawan can take the lead in promoting the Calamianes through the national and international marketing channels. The PTO may seek the support of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) through the DOT Region 4-B Office. Within the community, CATE and its counterpart associations in Busuanga and Culion can support the PTO in educating and encouraging their members to use the brand and tagline, while also monitoring their adherence to the guidelines contained in the final brandbook.

The destination marketing and promotions program should aim to increase market awareness and interest for the tourism circuit, through the use of traditional collaterals (e.g. brochures, video, etc.) and new media (e.g. website, social media, etc.)

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 22

!

The marketing program should also include support for selling and market intermediation activities by local tour operators and sellers together with LGU tourism officers. These activities may include participation in local and international trade fairs, organizing selling missions and inbound familiarization trips for tour operators and travel media.

3. Seek funding for the implementation of the tourism workforce development plans prepared by the Northern Palawan LGUs. ! !

Coron and Culion have completed their respective workforce development plans. Assistance should be extended to Busuanga and Linapacan to finalize their respective drafts.

Although these plans could no longer be funded through DILG’s TRABAJO program, the LGUs (in partnership with the local tourism industry associations) have several strategic options including the following: a) Adopt and fund the workforce development plans as LGU programs of the local tourism and PESO offices; b) Explore opportunities for funding from other NGAs such as DOLE and DSWD as well as donor agencies and agencies with compatible assistance programs.

4. Support for local tour operators and entrepreneurs to continue their product development efforts related to the development and marketing of alternative (especially land-based) tourist activities and attractions in Busuanga Island as well as Culion and Linapacan, to complement the existing island-hopping packages in Coron. The LGUs and CATE should advise local entrepreneurs and communities to ensure that the activities and packages will be consistent with the “Nature. Adventure. And all the Rest” tagline’s core messages and themes of ecotourism, sustainability, and responsible travel. !

! !

Among the activities and/or attraction sites where the local private sector has already started the groundwork for product development are: the Busuanga River Cruise; cultural encounters with Tagbanua cultural communities in Brgy. Lajala (and later, Banuang Daan in Coron Island); Calauit Island, and historical heritage tours in Culion.

Seasonal offerings that package Coron and El Nido (or El Nido and Linapacan) as twin destinations may now also be feasible with the entry of fast craft services such as the M/V Montenegro Provincial Tourism Offices can facilitate and support market-linkage efforts of local private sector efforts to sell circuit tour packages to the national and international markets.

Seek support from DTI, development partners and NGOs for technical assistance to MSMEs and communitybased livelihood groups to design and produce high quality souvenirs and tourist merchandise based on the overall marketing and branding strategy for the destination. Operationalization of a DTI Negosyo Center for the Calamianes, based in Coron, would be an important step in this regard.

Recommendations for Sustaining the LED-Enabling Environment in the LGU On the aspect of continuing the drive for improved business-friendliness and competitiveness of the LGUs, the general direction should be: 1) to strengthen and ensure the permanence, i.e. regular operations, of the key structures for LED promotion in the LGUs such as LEIPO and Tourism Office, and 2) to institutionalize the key LGU policies and programs for business-friendliness and support to competitive sectors.

Thus the main recommendations for continued and improved business-friendliness of the LGUs are : 1. Ensure that the Provincial and City/Municipal Governments have LEIPO, Tourism, and other LED-related Offices with full-time personnel and adequate resources. While all LGUs have designated LEIPOs and Tourism Officers, it is important that they be provided with budget, office, and personnel to effectively perform their investment promotion, business retentions, and MSME facilitation work. !

These offices can initially be established through Executive Orders, and eventually institutionalized through local legislation in partnership with the local legislature.

!

Include in the LGU budgets, sufficient funds and resources for the effective and harmonized operation frontline BFCL LGU offices such as BPLO (and Business-One-Stop-Shop), LEIPO, Tourism Office, PESO, Planning Office, etc. Funding for continuous technology improvement and staff development related to LED information systems (e.g. auto-BPLS, skills registry system, tourism statistics, land-use and hazard maps, agricultural statistics, etc.) should be included in these budgets, to the extent feasible.

!

Key areas for knowledge- and skill-building of LGU LED Officers include:

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 23

"

data analysis and interpretation of LED data from BPLS, tourism statistics, local skills registry systems, landuse maps and data, as well as other information sets regularly collected by the LGUs. Capacity development can also be directed towards encouraging the regular sharing and joint analysis of these information by LEIPOs, Tourism Officers, Planning Officers, PESO managers, and other members of the LGU LED team.

"

Practical coaching and training on Investment promotion, investor handling, and relationship management for LEIPOs, with parallel orientation of LCEs if feasible.

"

Municipal tourism development planning for individual LGUs within the framework of the Northern Palawan tourism circuit. These sector specific plans should be well integrated into the CDPs and CLUPs of the 4 Calamianes municipalities.

2. The new or re-elected City and Municipal Local Chief Executives should work immediately with their respective Sangguniang Bayans to approve the new or updated Local Investment Incentives Codes (LIIC) formulated through the assistance of DILG and LGSP-LED by the municipalities of Coron, Busuanga, and Culion. Other legislative priorities may include: ! ! !

Formulation and adoption of LIIC should also be advocated for Linapacan.

Establishment and funding of permanent municipal tourism as well as LED and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) offices.

Updating of local tourism codes or business permitting regulations to encourage greater cooperation from tourism establishments in the collection of local tourism statistics

3. In addition the LGU Executive-Legislative teams should also prioritize the formulation and adoption of enabling LGU plans and policies for more inclusive, sustainable and socially-protective LED. These include the integration of the LED and tourism development plans with the CDP and CLUP, and other local regulatory measures. Among the priorities should be: !

! !

!

Integration of DRRM-CCA, including provisions related to LED and investment promotion, in subsequent updating of the Provincial Physical Framework Development Plan and the corresponding city/municipal CLUP and CDP. Development of protective enabling policies on human trafficking, child labor, and safe workplaces should be developed, using the TCP to identify key locations/sites for priority attention.

Building and infrastructure development should strictly conform to the existing Building Code, Environmental Policies and CCA-DRR plans. Zoning ordinances should be implemented strictly with emphasis on maintaining the required setbacks in coastal areas and river banks.

Strictly implement the requirements under the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System to ensure that developments are environmentally-compliant.

4. The Provincial Government should continue to work closely with the LGUs in the tourism circuit to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Development plan formulated through the assistance of LGSP-LED. !

!

!

In updating the plan, it is recommended that the LGUs should review and consider the adoption of site-specific recommendations from the USAID COMPETE Tourism Product Assessment of Coron and Busuanga, as well as the policy and site management recommendations related to Coron Island and marine protected areas (MPAs) from the USAID EcoFish Sustainable Agrifishery Plan for the Calamianes The Provincial Government and the partner cities/municipalities should coordinate with the DOT Regional Office to ensure that the priority infrastructure, site development, and institutional as well as human resource development needs for the circuit are integrated into the updated National Tourism Development Plan for 20162022.

The updating of the TCP should include a review disaster- and site-vulnerability issues and concerns affecting the Tourism Circuit.

5. The Provincial Government, with assistance from DILG, DTI, and DOT, should form a Local Economic Development (LED) Team to oversee the planning and implementation of LED Initiatives in the Province and the Northern Palawan Tourism Circuit in particular. The LED Team can be organized in a similar fashion to build on the project implementation and management arrangements for the LGSP-LED Project.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 24

! !

!

!

The Governor should be the chair of the LED Team, providing overall policy direction, strategic advise and leadership to the team.

The core LED Team should include the LEIPO, the Provincial Tourism Officer, the PESO Manager, the Planning Officer, and the PDRRMO (in charge of Bantay Turista) as well as the Provincial Tourism Council and the Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to represent the private sector. As with the LED Project, one of these action officers may be designated as the LED Team Manager to oversee day-to-day LED concerns.

The DILG Provincial Director and the LED Focal Person should also be invited to the LED Team, as well as other NGA Provincial Offices, such as DTI, DENR, DOLE, DSWD, etc. with programs critical to the LED Agenda of the Province, and the Calamianes tourism circuit. However, the NGAs should officially designate their permanent and alternate members to the LED Team, with preference for the focal persons/action officers with direct involvement in key LED-related programs such as DTI Negosyo Center, DOST SET-UP, DSWD Sustainable Livelihoods Program, etc.

The Provincial LED Team together with the DILG Provincial Office should organize and provide technical assistance to a similarly-composed counterpart team from among the LED officers, NGA action officers, and private sector stakeholder (such as the Calamianes Association of Tourism Establishments) in Northern Palawan.

6. The Provincial Government, in coordination with the Provincial Field Offices of NGAs, should consider the establishment of a satellite Government Center in Northern Palawan. Coron, as the trading and transportation hub, would be the most realistic location for such a Center. Considering the logistical requirements for such a center, the agencies may also consider various cost-sharing or co-management arrangements to ensure the regular presence of field officers (if full-time appointments are not feasible). !

!

!

A Provincial Government-owned building in Coron (currently the site of the Coron Tourism Office) would be a conveniently-located venue for such a Center. However, the building still needs some repair and refurbishing from damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda.

Operationalizing the DTI Negosyo Center in Coron would create another platform for NGA convergence. MSMEsupport programs of other NGAs (e.g. DA, DOST, DOT) may be delivered or processed through the Negosyo Center if it is infeasible for these NGAs to maintain a permanent office in Coron.

The agencies can also aim to build on the convergence platforms created by the cluster organization framework of the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery program. Thus, the NGA convergence for LED in Northern Palawan may grow out of the Livelihood Cluster, which brought various NGOs and international agencies such as Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), ILO, PHILSSA, etc. together in one table.

DILG Regional and Provincial Offices can continue to lead the LGUs along the roadmap towards more business-friendly and competitive LGUs through the following: 1. Establish a “BFCL Team or Working Group” from among the Regional and Provincial technical staff to provide information, facilitate access to technical assistance and capacity development resources, and to monitor the streamlining of BFCL in LGU operations.

2. In coordination with LGA and the DILG Central Office, provide technical assistance and training for LGUs to fast-track the adoption and approval of key BFCL initiatives undertaken through the Local Project, specifically: • Designation of LEIPOs and establishment of local economic development and investment promotions offices • New or updated LIIC harmonized with new/updated LRC • Institutionalization of LGU skills registry system • Institutionalization of LGU tourism statistics and information systems 3. Combine advocacy with technical assistance and support – again, in coordination with LGA and DILG Central Office – for LGUs to harmonize their LED plans and programs with the updating/enhancement of their respective CDPs and CLUPs. In the process, DILG should emphasize the gender, social protection, poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and disaster-resiliency features of the 2 mother plans to ensure the mainstreaming of these themes in the LGUs LED plans and programs.

4. Support LGU efforts to update and continue implementation of the Tourism Circuit Plan by: •

Facilitating activities for CATE, COMPETE, EcoFish, DOT and other agencies with related plans to properly orient the Northern Palawan LCEs and their executive-legislative teams on the key LED and tourism circuit LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 25

•

•

•

development plans, which they can adopt and integrate into the development plans and agenda of the new local administrations taking office in July 2016.

Ensuring that the LCEs and their LED teams are fully oriented, as part of the NEO program, on the key issues, priorities and recommendations from the TCP, as well as the updated 2017-2022 NTDP. The LGUs may then take up the relevant recommendations and concerns as part of their Executive-Legislative Agendas and various local development plans that they will be formulating.

Coordinating and facilitating the provision of technical assistance and coaching, through convergence, of technical assistance and coaching from DENR, DSWD, PCW, and other NGAs/development partners, so that the updated TCP and related municipal plans and programs continue to integrate issues and concerns related to gender equality especially the protection of women and children, environmental sustainability, and disaster risk reduction and management.

Facilitating coordination and communication with counterparts in the Regional Offices of partner NGAs, especially those without Provincial units such as DOT, to ensure effective, harmonized delivery of support services and programs for planning and implementing the various LED initiatives in the Calamianes

5. Facilitating the local planning processes so as to encourage inter-LGU coordination such that common LED and tourism concerns can be addressed in a coordinated manner across the circuit.

•

Encouraging the LCEs and other LGU leaders to build on existing programs of cooperation such as the Northern Palawan Inter-Municipal Health Zone, and the USAID EcoFish project on sustainable agrifishery for the Calamianes leading to a similar program for LED and tourism

DILG MLGOOs can be instrumental in supporting inter-LGU coordination and cooperation, given that they themselves have been organized into one cluster with a designated Cluster Head (currently the MLGOO of Busuanga). The Regional and Provincial Offices should consider support and capacity development strategies for strengthening the team such that the member MLGOOs are empowered to act collectively, as champions for inter-LGU cooperation and NGA convergence in Northern Palawan

Recommendations for Sustaining the Tourism Circuit Development and Sector Competitiveness Program Through the Local Project, the Provincial Government and its partners in Northern Palawan have implemented some initial activities to develop the Calamianes into a more attractive investment destination with a more competitive tourism circuit and industry. While there have been clear gains achieved to date, there are still many important issues to address for this progress to be sustained. More importantly, much work remains to be done in order to ensure that the growth from LED and tourism will become truly inclusive and beneficial to more people.

While the private sector should continue to drive the product development, business investment, and employment generation components of tourism circuit development, the Provincial and Municipal Governments must also continue to support and enable its private sector partners through: !

Direct public investments or facilitation of public-private partnerships (PPP) for LED-enabling infrastructure to improve accessibility (e.g. ports and roads) and cost of doing business (e.g. power, water, sewage, sanitation)

!

Market-linkage programs and services to connect local communities, businesses, and products to market intermediaries, buyers, and investors through destination marketing and investment promotion activities and events.

!

Provision of LGU programs and systems to raise the supply and quality of available human resources in the tourism sector through effective workforce development planning, training and education, and job-employer matching – in partnership with the local industry.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 26

In this regard, the main recommendations for LGUs to enable a more competitive and sustainable tourism sector in the TDA are: 1. Establish a Public-Private Team within the LED Team to focus on ensuring the funding and implementation of priority LED-enabling infrastructure projects identified in the TCP, as well as on organizing investment promotion events and activities to seek investors for priority investments to address competitiveness gaps in the tourism circuit (e.g. hotels and resorts, tourist transport, tourism estates, etc.) !

!

The Provincial LEIPO, in partnership with the Local Chamber, may organize regular (quarterly or twice a year) meetings with the Northern Palawan LEIPOs and CATE from the LGUs of the circuit to plan and coordinate investment promotion priorities and activities Investment promotion priorities, in line with the Northern Palawan TCP and the forthcoming update to the NTDP, will be for more dispersed, sustainable hotel development to other parts of Busuanga Island and transportation infrastructure, including inter-island service between Busuanga and the island-municipalities of Culion and Linapacan

2. Through the Provincial Tourism Office, and in partnership with CATE and other private sector institutions in Busuanga and Culion, design and implement a program for the full roll-out and market/industry launch of the “Calamianes.

Nature, Adventure, and all the Rest” brand. This Calamianes branding campaign should be integrated with the Province of Palawan’s “Every Island an Adventure” campaign. !

!

!

Absent a Northern Palawan Visitors Bureau, the Provincial Tourism Office of Palawan can take the lead in promoting the Calamianes through the national and international marketing channels. The PTO may seek the support of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) through the DOT Region 4-B Office. Within the community, CATE and its counterpart associations in Busuanga and Culion can support the PTO in educating and encouraging their members to use the brand and tagline, while also monitoring their adherence to the guidelines contained in the final brandbook.

The destination marketing and promotions program should aim to increase market awareness and interest for the tourism circuit, through the use of traditional collaterals (e.g. brochures, video, etc.) and new media (e.g. website, social media, etc.)

The marketing program should also include support for selling and market intermediation activities by local tour operators and sellers together with LGU tourism officers. These activities may include participation in local and international trade fairs, organizing selling missions and inbound familiarization trips for tour operators and travel media.

3. Seek funding for the implementation of the tourism workforce development plans prepared by the Northern Palawan LGUs. • Coron and Culion have completed their respective workforce development plans. Assistance should be extended to Busuanga and Linapacan to finalize their respective drafts. ! Although these plans could no longer be funded through DILG’s TRABAJO program, the LGUs (in partnership with the local tourism industry associations) have several strategic options including the following: a) Adopt and fund the workforce development plans as LGU programs of the local tourism and PESO offices; b) Explore opportunities for funding from other NGAs such as DOLE and DSWD as well as donor agencies and agencies with compatible assistance programs.

4. Support for local tour operators and entrepreneurs to continue their product development efforts related to the development and marketing of alternative (especially land-based) tourist activities and attractions in Busuanga Island as well as Culion and Linapacan, to complement the existing island-hopping packages in Coron. The LGUs and CATE should advise local entrepreneurs and communities to ensure that the activities and packages will be consistent with the “Nature. Adventure. And all the Rest” tagline’s core messages and themes of ecotourism, sustainability, and responsible travel.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 27

!

! !

Among the activities and/or attraction sites where the local private sector has already started the groundwork for product development are: the Busuanga River Cruise; cultural encounters with Tagbanua cultural communities in Brgy. Lajala (and later, Banuang Daan in Coron Island); Calauit Island, and historical heritage tours in Culion.

Seasonal offerings that package Coron and El Nido (or El Nido and Linapacan) as twin destinations may now also be feasible with the entry of fast craft services such as the M/V Montenegro.

Provincial Tourism Offices can facilitate and support market-linkage efforts of local private sector efforts to sell circuit tour packages to the national and international markets.

Seek support from DTI, development partners and NGOs for technical assistance to MSMEs and communitybased livelihood groups to design and produce high quality souvenirs and tourist merchandise based on the overall marketing and branding strategy for the destination. Operationalization of a DTI Negosyo Center for the Calamianes, based in Coron, would be an important step in this regard.

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 28

Annexes Local Project Performance Summary INDICATORS

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL BASELINE

RESULTS

TARGET RESULTS

CUMULATIVE

INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES New Investments

(MARCH 2016) 0

Private Tourism Investments

Public Investments

Description

Value (PHP)

150 additional rooms

0

167.7M

1.048B 568.5M New hotels, tourist inns and lodges 568.5M

Power supply for Coron/Busuanga

332.3M New hotels, tourist inns and lodges

Concrete access road to Maquinit Hot Springs; Concreting of Sto. Niño-Busuanga National Highway with rest stops

480M Coron Busuanga Road,Access Road to the jump off point to Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary road connecting Busuanga airport-Kiwit Road

Employment (New) Male

1050

150

Female

569

150

Tourist Arrivals (Growth Rate per year to 2016) Tourist Arrivals (Annual Volume by 2016) IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES

10.60%

10.23%

91,580

124,033

100,946

Enabling Policies Adopted

7

12

7

LGU Business Plan (Workforce)

0

1

0

LGU Business Plan (Investment Promotion) LEIPO Designated LEDIP Establishment LIIC Adopted

0

1

0

2 2 0

2 3 1

4 0 0

BPLS Computerized

1

3

1

Tourism Statistics system implemented

2

1

2

LED Actors with Capacity to Plan/Implement

0

3

3

LED Initiatives Implemented

0

2

2

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 29

OUTPUTS LEIPOs Trained

0

4

4

LCEs

0

4

4

LEIPO and Staff

0

4

8

Tourism Officers and Staff

0

4

2

PESO Managers and Staff

0

0

35

Other LGU Staff

0

4

4

LGU Business Plans & Policies Formulated LGU Business Plan (Workforce)

8

11

14

0

1

3

LGU Business Plan (Investment Promotion) LIIC Formulated/Updated

0

1

0

2

3

3

LGU BFCL Action Plan Formulated

0

1

1

BPLS Installed

0

0

1

LGU Tourism Statistics Action Plan Formulated

1

3

1

Tourism Statistics system installed/strengthened

0

0

1

Tourism Code formulated/updated

2

1

4

TOP COP Program/Plan developed

3

1

0

LED Initiatives Planned

0

2

2

LED Actors Trained

0

153

35

PIT Members Trained (non-LGU)

0

3

1

Workers, Entrepreneurs Trained

0

150

31

Industry Representatives

0

0

3

LGSP-LED Northern Palawan Local Project Completion Report | 30