THE local government units of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental will be creating a technical working group (TWG) that will provide advisories to local and foreign tourists visiting the city and province.
During the joint peace and order council meeting of the city and province, City Councilor Romeo Calizo, the chairman of the Public Order and Safety Commitee in Cagayan de Oro, was designated to lead the TWG.
"NICA (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency) is the agency in charge of intelligence coordination but the limitation is, they are not authorized to issue any information regarding this because it is classified," Calizo said.
"But for us who is promoting what we have here in the region, especially Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, should have a way of giving a glimpse of assurance to visiting people that it is safe," he added.
According to Calizo, the purpose of the said TWG is to come up with a concept of how to provide an advisory to local and foreign visitors of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.
He further said that despite the promotions of the city and province's tourist destinations and products, there is the "element of fear" in the hearts and minds of the tourists.
"This will stop them from coming here. Sayang hindi natin maibenta 'tong ating lugar. So yung ang rationale [of the TWG is] to raise in the mind of the respective tourist about the threat here in our place," Calizo said.
Apart from NICA-10, Calizo plans to make the chairman of the Committee of Peace and Order of the province and the information offices of the City and Provincial Government members of the TWG.
"Since NICA can provide the raw data, we can convert that into an advisory, with the intention of giving our prospected tourists a glimpse of hope, that indeed our place is peaceful and safe," Calizo said.