MANILA, 1 June 2022: The Philippines Department of Tourism welcomed the appointment of Christina G. Frasco as its new secretary, who was officially named the new tourism chief by the country’s president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr earlier this week.

On Monday, 30 May, the incoming press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced Frasco’s appointment as one of her first duties.

Christina G. Frasco.

According to Rappler.com news channel, Frasco was reelected mayor of Liloan town in Cebu back in the May polls for her third term in office. She also served as the spokesperson of now vice president-elect Sara Duterte during the national elections campaign.

She replaces Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, appointed in 2018 by the former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The DOT media statement said: “There are high hopes that the momentum that we have generated the past few months toward the revival, recovery, and resiliency of the tourism industry will be carried over to the new administration.”

The DOT statement noted that the “transition team of the DOT is ready to welcome and brief the new secretary and her team for a smooth turnover.”

Earlier this year, the DOT announced the completion of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) from 2022 to 2028.

“We will also be turning over the reformulated Tourism Response and Recovery Plan (TRRP), which has served as the department’s road map to the tourism sector’s full recovery from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the DOT statement concluded.