CEBU CITY: A lawmaker is pushing in Congress for the
inclusion of images of the country’s tourist destinations in Philippine postage
stamps, a report reaching Philippine Preview said.
The said report named Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez
as the one who filed House Bill (HB) 2417, “An act requiring the Philippine
Postal Service (PhilPost) to print postage stamps depicting Philippine tourist
spots and to require that these stamps be affixed on all outgoing mail matter
for a certain period of time to attract foreign tourist and for other
purposes.”
Approved on second reading, HB 2417, also known as
the “Philippine Stamp Act of 2013,” requires the tourism department and Tourism
Promotions Board to assist PhilPost in identifying tourist spots to be depicted
in the stamps.
Olivarez said he filed the bill to help pick up the
pace in the country’s tourism promotion efforts endorsing DOT’s campaign slogan,
“It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”
However, only a limited number of destinations will
be featured in the stamps, as the DOT hailed the move a boost in the country’s
tourism.
Olivarez notes that the tourism in the country
produces productiveness that the national government relies on to attain an
industrialized status in the region of Asia through the promotion of its tourist
spots.
He added the use of postage stamps depicting Philippine
tourist spots stimulate the interest of tourists without extra cost on the part
of government. (MICHAEL MEDINA)