CHAPTER 4

Bureaus and Offices

SECTION 11. Bureau and Office Character and Head.—The Bureaus and Offices shall be essentially staff in character, each of which shall be headed by a Staff Director.

SECTION 12. Bureau of Domestic Tourism Promotions and Information.—The Bureau of Domestic Tourism Promotions and Information shall have the following functions:

(1) Organize and coordinate programs of public relations, promotions, and publicity; encourage domestic tourism and encourage overseas visitors to travel throughout the Philippines;

(2) Design and provide support for dissemination of materials for publicity as tourist attractions in the Philippines; promote educational and cultural tours to increase travel within the country;

(3) Promote, organize and provide support for tourist councils;

(4) Plan promotional campaigns through advertising and publicity and coordinate promotional efforts with the private sector through sales campaigns and information dissemination; and

(5) Organize special events for the promotion of local destinations.

SECTION 13. Bureau of International Tourism Promotions.—The Bureau of International Tourism promotions shall have the following functions:

(1) Generate favorable publicity on the Philippines;

(2) Disseminate current information on the country and its tourist products;

(3) Provide support for the private sector in the promotional campaign;

(4) Organize special events to promote the country as a tourist destination;

(5) Gather market intelligence and research information on tourist markets through the Foreign Field Offices;

(6) Monitor trends and developments in international tourism through the Foreign Field Offices;

(7) Organize, set up and participate in international meetings, conferences and conventions on tourism; and

(8) Supervise foreign field offices charged with coordinating and assisting in the marketing and promotional activities and programs of the Department.

SECTION 14. Office of Tourism Information.—The Office of Tourism Information shall have the following functions:

(1) Promote a continuing wholesome and informative relationship between the Department and the travelling public;

(2) Cause the widest publicity of existing and forthcoming activities and programs of the Department through a functional relationship with the media; and

(3) Organize and disseminate promotional and tourist information materials to various tourist assistance centers.

SECTION 15. Office of Tourism Standards.—The Office of Tourism Standards shall have the following functions:

(1) Approve the construction standards of tourism-oriented establishments including hotels, resorts, inns, motels, and other related facilities and services, prescribe information reporting on purchase, sale or lease of accredited tourism-oriented facilities and ensure a harmonious, positive and constructive development of the tourism industry;

(2) Formulate operating standards for tourism-oriented establishments including hotels and resorts, restaurants, inns, motels, and other related facilities and services, that will prescribe minimum levels of operating quality and efficiency in order to ensure that facilities, personnel and services are maintained in accordance with acceptable local and international norms in the operations of tourism-oriented establishments;

(3) Regulate and issue licenses to qualified travel agencies in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary;

(4) Encourage formation of industry associations for accreditations by the Department;

(5) Assist in auditioning Filipino entertainers in order to project properly and enhance the Filipino image in the entertainment field and thereby gain better international respect and reputation; and

(6) Coordinate with all agencies concerned on the enforcement of rules and regulations promulgated by the Department.

SECTION 16. Office of Tourism Development Planning.—The Office of Tourism Development Planning shall have the following functions:

(1) Formulate plans and policies for the development of the tourism industry, including but not limited to national tourism plans and the identification of master physical plans for tourism zones within the country;

(2) Monitor and evaluate plans, programs and projects of the Department to ensure their effective implementation;

(3) Undertake research studies and surveys for the continuing analysis of the tourism industry;

(4) Compile and integrate statistical data on the tourism industry and publish the same;

(5) Coordinate and assist in the implementation of tourism-oriented projects, plans or operations of local governments, governmental agencies, public corporations, and where clearly necessary and feasible, those of private entities so as to make possible the accelerated and balanced growth and development of tourism in the Philippines which is responsible to the needs of targetted travel markets, domestic and foreign, and beneficial to a greater number of Filipino communities;

(6) Analyze specific geographical areas with potential tourism value leading to the preparation of a national tourism development plan which will establish the order of priority for the development plan of tourist zones;

(7) Formulate a government plan for each zone in coordination with other government agencies and local government units exercising political jurisdiction over the area, provided, that the plan of the zone to be developed shall cover specifically those aspects pertaining to tourism; provided further, that the tourism development plan is fully coordinated and integrated with other sectoral plans for the area; and

(8) Coordinate with appropriate local government units and other government agencies to assist in formulating and implementing zone regulations, including building codes, hotel standards and such other restrictions as may be necessary within a tourist zone to control its orderly development; preserve such historical, cultural or natural assets or relics giving the zone its tourism value and significance; and assure adherence to approved zone development plans;

(9) Ensure through proper coordination with appropriate government agencies and local private agencies the social growth of the community within a tourist zone; carefully control possible negative social impact brought about by tourism development.

SECTION 17. Office of Product Development.—The Office of Product Development shall have the following functions:

(1) Develop and conceptualize new products which can lead to the enhancement of tourist sites and facilities;

(2) Undertake pilot tests for testing the viability and acceptability of new tourism-related products and programs; and

(3) Encourage and promote joint undertakings with the private sector of new tourism-related products and programs.

SECTION 18. Office of Tourism Coordination.—The Office of Tourism Coordination shall have the following functions:

(1) Initiate and coordinate with all sectors, both government and private, the development of the national tourism plans and policies;

(2) Coordinate priority activities and projects of the Department, and other government agencies, and the private sector;

(3) Enlist the assistance and support of any or all of the government agencies in the implementation of the policies of the Department; and

(4) Provide support to all tourism-related activities of the private sector needing government assistance.

Executive Order No. 292
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF 1987