By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In adherence to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s mandate on government agencies to focus on the digitalization of government services and transactions, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) inked an agreement to strengthen the cooperation between the government’s financial institutions and the tourism sector.
Last January, LANDBANK President and CEO Lynette Ortiz and Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to ensure greater transparency, efficiency, and ease of doing business.
Ortiz said in a statement, “By streamlining payments and accelerating procurement processes, we aim to support the DOT in focusing even more on its core mission—promoting our country, empowering tourism enterprises and workers, and welcoming the world to our shores.”
The LANDBANK chief moreover, noted that this agreement will enable the DOT to adopt the LANDBANK Link.BizPortal, which would serve as a one-stop digital payment platform for commercial establishments and businesses nationwide to settle various fees and bidding documents online.
This initiative, touted as the ‘plug-and-play’ system, is expected to significantly streamline transactions and reduce the need for manual interventions and excess paperwork.
In addition, the DOT is enrolling in the Government Purchase Card (GPC) Program, with an initial rollout covering 16 Regional Directors nationwide.
The GPC is designed to strengthen internal financial controls while expediting the procurement of goods and services essential to tourism operations.
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