MAIN PHOTO: Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (center) visits Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac town.
BAGAC, Bataan — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has committed to assist Bataan’s tourism industry to help it recover from losses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was revealed by DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat during her visit to the province of Bataan as she mentioned a number of projects that could be of help, namely cash assistance for displaced employees of hotels and restaurants funded by the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act.
“DOT has also provided loan assistance in partnership with Small Business Corporation wherein micro, small and medium enterprises can apply for loans with zero interest and payable for four years and with one-year grace period,” Sec. Puyat said in a virtual press conference.
Puyat added that her agency can also aid in the province’s re-branding in terms of online application registration for tourists to enhance contact tracing and can provide free reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to hotel and restaurant employees.
The cabinet official furthered that President Rodrigo Duterte would like to provide funding for Mt. Samat’s development projects since it is a historical site.