Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said he’s focused on turning Philippine tourism around, leaving it up to government lawyers to answer Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s question on whether his takeover of the department is legal.

Lacson on Tuesday said Jimenez’s assumption of office may not be legal because he hasn’t been confirmed yet. Jimenez said President Aquino appointed him “acting” secretary, which may not need confirmation.

The 35-year veteran in the advertising agency said while the tourism budget is miniscule compared to others, Filipinos have the talent to do more with less.

“Malaysia spills more money than we actually have to spend,” Jimenez said in an ABS-CBN News Channel interview. “The total promotions budget of the Philippines is smaller than what Malaysia has to spend on Hong Kong.”

Still, he said the Philippines will have a successful campaign. Seven of the country’s top advertising companies are pitching for the account, he said. He wouldn’t disclose his or their ideas, saying he didn’t want to tip off the “competition.”

“Somewhere in Thailand and Vietnam and Malaysia, some people are very worried about what we’re about to do. They know we haven’t got the budget, can you figure out why [they’d be worried]? The answer can only be, the Filipinos have always beaten them with less. Always,” he said.

“My most successful campaigns have been with small-budget clients,” said Jimenez, who has created campaigns for Cebu Air Inc., Jollibee Foods Corp., San Miguel Corp. and other companies. He and wife and partner Abby also helped turn around Mr. Aquino’s campaign after his wide lead in surveys narrowed to a statistical dead heat with Sen. Manuel Villar.

Many people blame the small budget and the low quality and number of airports, roads and other infrastructure for the Philippines’ being a tourism laggard. Tourism arrivals are a fraction of what they are in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

In 2009 the Philippines attracted only 2.7 million tourists compared with Thailand’s 14.1 million and Malaysia’s 23.6 million, according to data from Asean.

That’s part of the reason his predecessor, Alberto Lim, pushed for a so-called pocket open-skies policy, opening up airports outside Manila to unlimited foreign flights, with the expectation this would mean cheaper fares and more tourists.

The country’s biggest carriers, Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, said the Philippines should give unlimited flights to another country only if that country did the same for Philippine carriers. They say to do otherwise puts Philippine carriers at a competitive disadvantage.

Months later, Lim was out. His successor is sticking with Lim’s pocket open-skies policy, though.

In the interview, Jimenez refused to concede that larger foreign carriers with unlimited rights could clobber local airlines.

“This is going to be very good for the Philippines, including the Philippine carriers,” he said.

He added Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific will not “lie down and die just because competitors come in. They are much too good.”

“We are talking about an opportunity that’s much larger than this business we are trying to protect now,” he said.

“There is every confidence that Filipino airlines will not only survive, they will prevail. As long as they are willing to compete,” he said. Meanwhile, Jimenez says his tourism campaign will be out by Christmas and people will find its TV ad as catchy as “Incredible India” and “Malaysia Truly Asia.”

“They’re going to be singing the tune in their cars,” he said.