DOT, IBP team up for free legal aid to tourism businesses

The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) have launched a partnership to provide free legal aid to DOT-accredited tourism enterprises nationwide and to introduce a privilege card offering discounts to lawyers to boost domestic travel.

The IBP’s legal aid program, launched on Oct. 21, at the DOT Central Office in Makati City, will offer consultations, training and representation to qualified DOT-accredited individuals and establishments. The initiative is designed to safeguard workers and businesses during disputes and crises.

DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, a lawyer and former three-term local chief executive of Liloan in Cebu, stressed the importance of the collaboration.

“Our advocacy is we must take care of those who contribute to our country in so many ways – our tourism frontliners, our tourism stakeholders – who by their work alone ensure that millions of Filipinos are employed and benefit from tourism,” she said.

The IBP privilege card will grant legal practitioners discounts and special rates at DOT-accredited establishments, such as hotels, resorts, travel agencies and tour operators to stimulate tourism activity and expenditures. The DOT and IBP first announced the landmark partnership earlier this year during the 20th National Convention of Lawyers, which was graced by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

“The success of the tourism industry is by no means a Department of Tourism sphere alone, but rather it is a whole-of-nation approach that requires the help of everyone,” Frasco said, expressing appreciation for the IBP’s collaboration.

Present at the launch were IBP officials, including IBP president Allan Panolong, executive vice president Randall Tabayoyong and general counsel Rico De Guzman. DOT officials in attendance included DOT Undersecretaries Maria Rica Bueno and Shahlimar Hofer Tamano.