The Department of Tourism (DOT) has proposed the establishment of the 24/7 tourist courts to ensure the swift resolution of cases where tourists are involved.
Secretary Christina Frasco made the proposal during a sectoral meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who directed the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to work with the DOT to investigate and prosecute crimes related to tourists.
“We are now working with the DOJ, and we will be collaborating with the judiciary department for the establishment of a 24-hour tourist court for the resolution of crimes related to our tourists,” Frasco said during a recent briefing for the proposed 2025 budget of the DOT at the House of Representatives.
Her department, she added, is also beefing up police forces across strategic locations of the country, particularly in tourist hotspots.
Over 8,000 police personnel under the Tourist Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection Program have already been trained. The DOT has also trained 270 barangay tanod and barangay intelligence network as police multipliers.
“Being a [former] mayor nga po, alam natin na hindi naman enough yung number of police to the actual population, kaya naman po inexpand natin yung program na ito na isasali na natin sa training yung barangay tanod and barangay intelligence network multipliers in various areas in the country. And we are expanding this to various LGUs,” the secretary said.
To date, the Philippines has registered a total of 3,860,730 international visitors, of which 92.05 percent or 3,553,720 are foreigners, while the remaining 7.95 percent or 307,010 are overseas Filipinos.
The top 10 source markets are South Korea, the United States of America, Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.IMT
