Inclusion of ordinances in Baguio Visita website urged

5 September 2022 – Mayor Benjamin Magalong signed city council resolution no. 370, series of 2020, requesting the City Tourism division of the City Administrator’s Office to include in the Baguio Visitor Information and Travel Assistance (VISITA) website copies of city ordinances affecting tourists and travelers for their awareness and to prevent violations of the same.

The VISITA website is an online portal which was implemented as part of the Summer Capital’s recovery and resiliency plan to revive its tourism economy and utilize the same for contact-tracing in the city at the height of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“The city government with its VISITA registration system for tourists and travelers was able to regulate and monitor the entry and mobility of guests through a ticketing system that was further upgraded to include additional services such as booking assistance, itinerary planning and information portal for tourism events, among others,” the measure states.

It adds that the website has also included an announcement page where registrants would be able to acquire information about some ordinances of the city such as the number coding scheme and anti-littering ordinance.

However, the resolution claims that copies of ordinances or hyperlinks to these laws were not included so that visitors would be able to download these legislations and further read and understand their contents or provisions.

“Uploading copies of these ordinances in the Baguio VISITA website would increase awareness of visitors about local laws of the city, prevent violations of the same, and would likewise assist the police force in the implementation of these laws,” it states. – Gaby B. Keith