Photo: I Love Quezon City

Romeo Braceros Jr.

Christina Frasco, the tourism secretary, has pledged her complete support for the creation of other parks throughout the nation and voiced optimism for the sector's future growth.

“The Department of Tourism (DOT) extends its full support to the efforts of the national parks as well as our attached agencies to continue to develop the culture of tourism, which includes the continued development of our parks not only here in the National Capital Region (NCR) but also all over the Philippines,” Frasco said during the opening of the 1st Philippine Parks Congress at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium.

“Parks are important because it allows our families and us to commune with nature, to spend quality time with each other, and to remind us that despite how busy life may get, we must always take time to relax, unwind, and spend time to be in touch with nature and commune with the Earth,” Frasco added.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), through its concerned agencies, has already started reaching out to local government units (LGUs) throughout the Philippines, even before the event above, to provide them with support and direction in creating parks within their jurisdiction.

As a result of coming in third place in a poll conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc., she is even more motivated to work hard for Philippine tourism (RPMD).

Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos, secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, received 75% of the vote, while Erwin Tulfo, secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), received 73%.

The study was based on an RPMD poll carried out from November 3 to November 10, 2022, using face-to-face interviews with 5,000 respondents chosen randomly from among the 7.3 million adult Filipinos living in Metro Manila.