Tieza ensures Baguio funds amid travel tax abolition talks
BAGUIO CITY—Funds allocated by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) for Baguio’s redevelopment have been secured despite congressional plans to abolish the travel tax, which is the agency’s primary source of revenue, Tieza Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid said at a news conference here on Thursday.
Four hundred million pesos has been reserved for the rehabilitation of the century-old Burnham Park, which was originally programmed in 2020 but was postponed due to national health emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The park was restored last year.
An as-yet-undetermined portion of Tieza funds will be used to begin repairs and install upgrades to the city’s deteriorating wastewater treatment system, Lapid said after he and Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspected ongoing work on Burnham Park’s man-made lake.
Lapid confirmed that measures under deliberation, such as House Bill No. 7443 filed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, could disrupt Tieza’s planned construction projects unless Congress provides an alternative source of funding.
The government currently taxes departing Filipino travelers, charging P2,700 for first-class passengers and P1,620 for economy class travelers.
Preapproved
“(The Tieza allocations for Baguio) have been preapproved,” he assured reporters, noting that travel tax collections last year reached P8.7 billion—P1 billion higher than 2024 collections.
Lapid added that Tieza is entitled to 50 percent of the travel tax, while 40 percent is allocated to scholarships and other projects under the Commission on Higher Education, and 10 percent goes to the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.
Tieza officials last met with the House committee on tourism on Monday to discuss the mechanisms of travel tax abolition, Lapid said.
The agency’s development pipeline includes repairs or expansion of the runways of ten airports, as well as the creation of travel circuits connecting Baguio, Sagada in Mountain Province, and Banaue in Ifugao, Lapid said.
During the inspection, Lapid and Magalong discussed accelerating repairs at Burnham Park after learning that dredging and rehabilitation of Burnham Lake by contractors Moment Diagram Builders and Dungan Construction had experienced delays due to a slope collapse, which buried one backhoe in thick mud.
It took three weeks to extract the equipment and reinforce the weakened lake wall.
Burnham Lake, one of the city’s most popular attractions and a recreational boat-rowing site, was closed for repairs in October last year, affecting nine boat ride operators.
Lawyer Rhenan Diwas, city environment and parks management officer, said the delay could push back the lake’s reopening from April to May or June.
Tieza also plans to accelerate work on other park areas, including the children’s playground, for which Lapid proposed adding a rain dome.
However, Lapid emphasized that the city’s most critical project requiring Tieza’s assistance is the expansion of its sewage treatment plant (STP).
Tieza had been set to secure a $45-million loan on Baguio’s behalf from the Asian Development Bank, but the project was removed from the national priority list due to documentation delays.
Lapid noted that Tieza previously funded the ongoing construction of an STP on Coron Island in Palawan.
