Keeping More Fun in the Philippines

While she may look fragile and young, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette “Berna” Romulo-Puyat is not someone who can be daunted in government service. Romulo-Puyat started as an economics professor. And she even once tried her hands in politics where, apparently, she was not cut out for.

Romulo-Puyat joined us the other day in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum at Cafe Adriatico in Remedios Circle, Malate. President Duterte appointed Romulo-Puyat after he sacked DOT Secretary Wanda Teo last May 8 following the latest scandal involving his Cabinet official.

The newly minted DOT Secretary bravely faced the media even as she was barely 21 days into office. Actually, Romulo-Puyat took her oath of office on May 14 which coincidentally fell on her 47th birthday. But she counts her official start in office from May 30 after she swiftly breezed through the Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmation.

A day after attending her first time to join the Cabinet meeting at Malacanang last June 12, she posted this in her Facebook Account along with photo of several other Secretaries: “You know that feeling of being the new kid in school? Well, that’s how I felt when I attended my first cabinet meeting yesterday. Not only was I asked to say the opening prayer (I was told by PMS that they sometimes give this task as part of the initiation for the newbies but I was also asked to report updates on inbound visitors to our country. You can imagine how terrified I was because I was going to be presenting before PRRD, my UP School of Economics professors, colleagues of my dad, former officemates in the PMS and all these people I only read about in the news. So happy that they were all so nice to me.”

PMS is the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) where she first worked in the government during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. PRRD stood for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. And of course, her father is former Senate majority leader Alberto Romulo who once served as executive secretary of Mrs. Arroyo.

It was during her stint in the past administrations when she first met then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Prior to her latest assignment, President Duterte kept Romulo-Puyat as undersecretary for special concerns at the Department of Agriculture (DA). On a bit of trivia, she told us, she had no inkling whatsoever that President Duterte would appoint her as DOT chief. She was summoned to a meeting at Malacanang Palace on May 8 to discuss about the rice import controversy along with other officials of the National Food Authority Council (NFAC).

Originally, presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced the President designated Puyat to head the body that would decide on rice importation permit to settle the feud between Cabinet Sec. Leoncio Evasco, erstwhile NFAC chairman and NFA chief Jason Aquino. Subsequently, the President apparently had a change of heart and told her he wanted her to take over from Teo following the series of controversies that rocked the DOT.

Thus, before she assumed the DOT post, Romulo-Puyat disclosed, she asked President Duterte to grant her the same authority earlier given to newly appointed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to name his own undersecretaries. Granted with the same authority, she immediately buckled down to work by asking all the six undersecretaries and six assistant secretaries to tender their respective courtesy resignations.

As DOT Secretary, Romulo-Puyat declared she would strictly implement the letter and spirit of Republic Act 9593, also known as the Tourism Act of 2009. She announced she would only have three undersecretaries and three assistant secretaries, together with 16 regional offices and eight attached agencies to perform their mandates to develop our country’s tourism industry, both domestic and international.

In our Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Romulo-Puyat defined her first 100 days at the helm of the Department as “thorough housekeeping” during this period. After all, she has been housekeeper herself with two grown-up children now and a widow since 2010.

During this period, she vowed to undertake the following:

• Review and realignment of programs and projects to tourism and tourism-related laws and strategic development plans;

• Consultation and learning sessions with tourism stakeholders, government and private sector partners, and markets;

• Leadership in the post-rehabilitation phase of Boracay island;

• Implementation of the Farm Tourism Development Act; and,

• And refreshing and updating of our “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” global campaign.

When she first assumed office, the new DOT Secretary buried her head studying the latest reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing the tourism sector contributed 12.2 percent to the country’s gross domestic product for last year alone. For the same period, employment in tourism was estimated at 5.3 million, or 13.06 percent of total employment in the country.

Foreign visitor arrivals in the Philippines last year totaled 6.62 million while their average daily expenditure was pegged at $126 and length of stay of 9.35 days.

“Our goal this year is 7.4 million (tourist arrivals),” the new DOT chief vowed. This is about 11.3 percent increase from previous year’s level.

“We believe that the tourism sector can only be sustainable if we maximize consultations, if all stakeholders can assume responsibility for growing the industry,” she stressed. Toward this end, she also vowed to conduct regular consultation meetings with all stakeholders starting with the Tourism Congress of the Philippines created by RA 9593.

For today, she is meeting with President Duterte’s economic team to discuss basic infrastructure requirements to bolster tourism from construction of new airports and upgrading of existing ones, more reliable wi-fi connectivity, better transport facilities, among other things.

“With your continued support, I have no doubt that there can even more fun in the Philippines,” she urged the media’s help, and hastily adding, “But only the right kind, of course.”