G.A. Viray
American travel blogger Nathan Allen, who has been promoting the Philippines in his website I Dream of This, has been declared persona non grata by the province of Sorsogon for his Facebook post stating disappointment over his stay in Donsol.
According to Manila Times, “The Sangguniang Panglalawigan of Sorsogon declared blogger Nathan Allen, a citizen of United States, persona non grata to protest his derogatory remarks against the Donsol tourism office that was published in his “I dream of this” weblog last month.”
The resolution was filed by board member Frank Eric Ravanilla and was approved by the council during the last week of April.
In his post last April 14, 2015, Allen expressed his disappointment with the Department of Tourism (D.O.T.) which included a paragraph titled “Disappointed in Donsol”. He mentioned that the tourism officer was not around to entertain him and did not answer his calls nor texted him even though he was a guest of Governor Salceda. This caught the attention of Ravanilla to file a resolution against Allen.
According to CNN, Ravanilla said that his post may affect the local tourism in Donsol.
Meanwhile, Allen posted another status on April 23 reacting to an article in Manila Bulletin entitled “DOT-Bicol demands blogger’s apology”. He also clarified his previous post saying that the Donsol experience was just a minor incident, challenging the DOT.
On a final note, Allen mentioned that he wishes that visitors would want to return to the Philippines and bring their friends when they come back.
So, do you think he deserves to be declared as persona non grata? Leave a comment below.
Photo Credit: Nathan Allen / Facebook
He doesn’t deserve persona non grata. Maybe he was just telling the truth. Pinoys are just too sensitive.
He doesn’t deserve such thing. Perhaps he just wrote his opinion of what he experienced. It might be true that the officer wasn’t answering his calls. He is a foreigner and is promoting our country. He probably didn’t enjoyed his stay in Donsol due to some lack of coordination of some tourism officer. He is a blogger and its their nature to write about their experiences (good or bad) about the things and places they visited. And as he said, it is just a minor incident. Donsol tourism officers should be aware of things like this and as well as their services and programs to let tourists feel welcome and contented during thier visit/stay. Communication and coordination are key factors to consider.
i dont agree for persona en grata… people in DOT fault.. he just tell the truth… we should learned about this.. .. remember we are promoting , more fun in the philippines, so we should be responsible for this…