Is the P300-M budget for PHL-sponsored ADB conference worth it?

Secretary Robert Dawson of the Asian Development Bank estimates that one in three of the 4,000 participants to the bank's annual meeting in Manila would stay in the country for recreation, translating to an “immediate benefit” for the country in terms of tourism. Department of Finance data revealed that the budget being spent for the four-day seminar is  P300 million, covering both the capital expenditure and operating expenses for some 4,000  delegates from across the globe.   “A total of P178 million was allocated for all related expenses to the event such as venue rental, technical requirements, food and beverage, transportation, professional fees for participating vendors such as talents and performers, among others,” according to the Finance Department, which is co-hosting the event. “If you look at the attention the conference is getting the Philippines, then I would think that it is something worth it,” presidential communications and strategic planning Secretary Ricky Carandang in an interview with GMA News Online. The Philippinesponsorship of the ADB annual meeting “will enhance other nationalities perception of the Philippines,” Carandang added.   The annual meeting's liaison office noted at least 700 people helped organize the event, including 150 personnel from the bank and 285 student volunteers from Manila-based universities.   The Department of Finance (DOF) said a chunk of the budget was used to renovate the  state-owned Philippine International Convention Center, the ADB meeting's official venue.   “The money... for the PICC improvement will not only be for the ADB Annual Meeting but for succeeding events, international and local,” the department said.   “The total budget is an investment that will redound to greater benefit, not only for the government, but more importantly for Filipinos in the long term, since Manila 2012 is seen as an opportunity for the country to showcase its competence to the world,” it added.   “The coverage of the Philippines, mostly by international media, is quite positive and we want to build on that momentum to attract investments that will create jobs, and to attract visitors to the country,” said Carandang.   He claimed that the launching of the Philippines' new branding campaign by the Department of Tourism is “not a coincidence.”   “We are trying to maximize resources that we have in order to create a positive image for our country,” the Palace official said.   Dawson said the 2012 annual meeting is financed by the Philippine government, ADB, and the private sector, and that it took the bank and theFinance Department two years to prepare for it.   “In the past it used to be government who spent most of it. Now, the recent annual meetings... a lot of private sector sponsorship... which is actually very good, because the ADB is very active in promoting the private sector in the annual meeting,” Dawson said.   “For the medium- and long-term benefits, of course, there would be investments. We have lot of senior bankers, investors. When they come here, they have meetings. They discuss with various groups here in the Philippines,” the ADB secretary noted.   On Tuesday, the multilateral institution revealed that ADB granted the country with total of $1.86 billion for infrastructure, climate change, and social sector reform projects.   It included a $100-million river basin project in Agusan, a $500,000 grant for electricity consumer protection, and a $1-million technical assistance grant for a sustainable urban transport project in Davao.   The projects have been programmed for 2012-2014. —OMD/VS, GMA News