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Secretary of Tourism (Philippines)

Head of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines

Summary

Head of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines

Field	Value
post	Secretary of Tourism
native_name	Kalihim ng Turismo
insignia	Department of Tourism (DOT).svg
insigniasize	125px
insigniacaption	Official seal of the
Department of Tourism
image	Christina Frasco.jpg
imagesize	250px
incumbent	Christina Garcia Frasco
incumbentsince	June 30, 2022
style	The Honorable
member_of	Cabinet
appointer	President of the Philippines
(with the consent of the Commission on Appointments)
termlength	No fixed term
inaugural	Jose D. Aspiras
formation
website

Department of Tourism (with the consent of the Commission on Appointments)

The Secretary of Tourism is the head of the Department of Tourism (DOT), the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the regulation, planning, and promotion of the Philippine tourism industry. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet and serves as the principal adviser to the President of the Philippines on tourism policy.

The position was established on May 11, 1973, when President Ferdinand Marcos created the Department of Tourism through Presidential Decree No. 189. The current secretary is Christina Garcia Frasco, who assumed office on June 30, 2022.

History

The position was created on May 11, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 189, which established the Department of Tourism as a separate cabinet-level agency by splitting it from the former Department of Trade and Tourism. Jose Aspiras was appointed as the first Secretary of Tourism, serving from 1973 until the People Power Revolution in 1986—the longest tenure of any tourism secretary at nearly 13 years.

Following the adoption of the 1973 Philippine Constitution, which introduced a semi-parliamentary structure, the position was retitled Minister of Tourism. This title remained in use until President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 120 on January 30, 1987, which provided that upon adoption of the new Constitution establishing a presidential system, "the Ministry shall be called Department of Tourism and the titles of Minister, Deputy Minister, and Assistant Minister shall be changed to Secretary, Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively."

The Secretary's powers and responsibilities were substantially expanded and codified by Republic Act No. 9593, the Tourism Act of 2009, signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 12, 2009.

Appointment

The Secretary of Tourism derives constitutional authority from Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which provides that "The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments."

The appointment process requires presidential nomination followed by confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, a constitutional body composed of senators and representatives. The nominee appears before the CA Committee on Tourism and Economic Development for deliberation before endorsement to the plenary for final confirmation. Appointments made while Congress is in recess are designated "ad interim" and lapse if not confirmed before adjournment, requiring renomination.

Cabinet secretaries are bound by Article VII, Section 13 of the Constitution, which prohibits them from holding other government offices or practicing any profession during their tenure.

Powers and responsibilities

Under Section 6 of Republic Act No. 9593, the Secretary of Tourism exercises authority over tourism policy and regulation. The Secretary's functions include:

Formulating and supervising tourism policies, plans, programs, and projects
Coordinating with government agencies to implement tourism programs
Communicating to the President the impact of proposed governmental actions upon tourism
Representing the Philippines in domestic and international conferences concerning tourism, including treaty negotiations
Formulating rules governing the operation of tourism enterprises
Establishing national standards for licensing and accreditation of tourism establishments
Monitoring travel conditions and issuing safety advisories
Supporting the protection of historical, cultural, and natural endowments

Ex-officio positions

The Tourism Act of 2009 vests the Secretary with extensive ex-officio positions across government bodies:

Position	Body	Legal basis
Chairperson	Tourism Promotions Board	RA 9593, Sec. 47
Chairperson	TIEZA Board of Directors	RA 9593, Sec. 65
Chairperson	Duty Free Philippines Corporation Board	RA 9593, Sec. 91
Chairperson	Philippine Retirement Authority Board of Trustees	RA 9593, Sec. 30
Chairperson	Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving Board	RA 9593, Sec. 31
Vice-Chairperson	Civil Aeronautics Board	RA 9593, Sec. 96
Vice-Chairperson	Governing boards of international airports	RA 9593, Sec. 96
Member	Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Board	RA 9593, Sec. 96

Rank and compensation

The Secretary of Tourism holds Salary Grade 31 under the Salary Standardization Law, equivalent to all Department Secretaries.

The Secretary of Tourism is not in the constitutional line of presidential succession, which under Article VII, Section 8 passes from the Vice President to the Senate President to the Speaker of the House.

List of secretaries of tourism

Secretary of Tourism (1973–1978)

Portrait	Name
(Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
[[File:Jose_Diego_Aspiras.jpg	100px]]	Jose D. Aspiras
(1924–1999)	May 11, 1973	June 2, 1978	Ferdinand Marcos

Minister of Tourism (1978–1987)

Portrait	Name
(Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
[[File:Jose_Diego_Aspiras.jpg	100px]]	Jose D. Aspiras
(1924–1999)	June 2, 1978	February 25, 1986	Ferdinand Marcos
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Jose Antonio U. Gonzales	February 25, 1986	February 11, 1987	Corazon Aquino

Secretary of Tourism (1987–present)

Portrait	Name
(Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Jose Antonio U. Gonzales	February 11, 1987	April 14, 1989	Corazon Aquino
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Narzalina Z. Lim
Acting	April 15, 1989	June 7, 1989
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Peter D. Garrucho Jr.	June 8, 1989	January 8, 1991
[[File:Richard_Gordon_and_Alunan_COC_filing_2019_elections_(cropped).jpg	100px]]	Rafael M. Alunan III
(born 1948)	January 9, 1991	February 16, 1992
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Narzalina Z. Lim
Acting	February 17, 1992	September 10, 1992
Fidel V. Ramos
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Vicente T. Carlos	September 11, 1992	July 3, 1995
[[File:Eduardo_Patriarca_Pilapil.jpg	100px]]	Eduardo P. Pilapil	July 4, 1995	March 28, 1996
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Evelyn B. Pantig
Acting	March 29, 1996	April 7, 1996
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Mina T. Gabor	April 8, 1996	June 30, 1998
[[File:Gemma_Cruz.jpg	100px]]	Gemma Cruz-Araneta
(born 1943)	July 1, 1998	January 19, 2001	Joseph Estrada
[[File:Sen._Richard_Gordon_accepts_pledge_of_donation_to_Red_Cross_(cropped).jpg	100px]]	Richard J. Gordon
(born 1945)	January 20, 2001	January 4, 2004	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Robert Dean S. Barbers
Officer in Charge	January 5, 2004	February 25, 2004
[[File:Roberto_Pagdanganan.jpg	100px]]	Roberto C. Pagdanganan
(born 1946)	February 26, 2004	August 31, 2004
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Evelyn B. Pantig
Acting	September 1, 2004	November 29, 2004
[[File:Secretary_Joseph_Durano.jpg	100px]]	Joseph H. Durano
(born 1970)	November 30, 2004	June 30, 2010
[[File:3x4.svg	100px]]	Alberto A. Lim	June 30, 2010	August 12, 2011	Benigno Aquino III
[[File:PhilippineTourism_Secretary_Ramon_Jimenez_Jr.jpg	100px]]	Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.
(1955–2020)	September 1, 2011	June 30, 2016
[[File:Wanda_Teo_SG_WTTC_cropped.jpg	100px]]	Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo
(born 1952)	June 30, 2016	May 8, 2018	Rodrigo Duterte
[[File:Oath-taking_Ceremony_of_Tourism_Secretary_Bernadette_Puyat_(cropped).jpg	100px]]	Bernadette Romulo-Puyat
(born 1971)	May 11, 2018	June 30, 2022
[[File:Christina_Frasco_(cropped).jpg	100px]]	Christina Garcia Frasco
(born 1981)	June 30, 2022	Incumbent	Bongbong Marcos

Notes

References

"Mission and Structure". Department of Tourism.
(May 11, 1973). "Presidential Decree No. 189, s. 1973".
Mercado, Neil Arwin. (May 30, 2022). "Erwin Tulfo to serve as DSWD secretary; 4 other Marcos Cabinet members named". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
"Department of Tourism (Philippines)".
(January 30, 1987). "Executive Order No. 120, s. 1987".
(May 12, 2009). "Republic Act No. 9593".
"The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines – Article VII".
"Process of Confirmation by the Commission on Appointments".
"Manual on Position Classification and Compensation – Chapter 5".
Rivas, Ralf. (July 11, 2023). "Frasco goes on leave; DOT says this was planned before rebranding mess".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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