By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
TOURISM Industry stakeholders are questioning the appointment of actor Cesar Montano as COO of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
This developed as Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo admitted to members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday that Montano was not her personal choice, confirming BusinessMirror’s published report on his appointment to said post. (See “Cesar Montano to head TPB,” in the BusinessMirror, December 5, 2016.)
“I have to be frank with everybody…I had another choice. In fact, I already submitted the name…. I cannot do anything about it since [his appointment] is already there,” she told the CA’s committee on economic and tourism development. Sources earlier intimated to this paper that lawyer Falconi Millar was Teo’s nominee for COO of TPB. Millar was legal counsel of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, which Teo had headed prior to her appointment to the DOT.
Montano, who made three unsuccessful tries for elective office, the latest of which was as party-list representative in the May elections, personally campaigned for the election of Duterte as Philippine president.
Former Tourism Secretary Narzalina Lim was one of the industry stakeholders who issued a strongly worded statement against Montano’s appointment to the TPB. “I don’t think an actor is qualified to head such an important agency. I question not just his qualifications—for obviously this appointment was made for political reasons—but the manner by which he was appointed.”
She stressed that the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) “is supposed to submit names of the most qualified candidates. This just shows how [President] Duterte has continuously destroyed government institutions, which we have tried to build up and strengthen since Ferdinand Marcos destroyed them all during martial law.”
Lim, now president of Asia Pacific Projects Inc., a tourism and hospitality consulting company, emphasized: “If the TPB Board succumbs to pressure from Malacañang when it meets on December 15, then we might as well kiss the whole tourism industry good-bye.”
Montano is expected to attend the TPB Board meeting which has, on its agenda, his appointment as COO. Based on Republic Act 9353 (Tourism Act of 2009), the TPB Board has to elect the COO from a list of qualified nominees. He will also be introduced to other TPB officials and staff.
Jose Mari Del Rosario, president and CEO of Microtel Inns & Suites (Pilipinas) Inc. and Microtel Development Corp., was just as explicit in his reaction to Montano’s appointment. “Aside from being an actor, I don’t know what his professional background is. It doesn’t look like he meets the requirements for the TPB COO as specified in the Tourism Act of 2009.”
He underscored that the job is “a promotions effort for the country’s tourism industry that requires a pro with solid and experienced marketing discipline; and must be a strategic thinker. We don’t have time for OJTs [on-the-job trainees] to handle such a critical job.”
For her part, Aileen Clemente, president of Rajah Travel Corp., expressed hope that “whatever position needs to be filled, I hope that the powers-that-be can be more sensitive to the stakeholders and ensure the qualifications of those to be appointed. Not only are our businesses affected, but more so, the employees’ livelihood is at stake. That is why this is a
serious responsibility.”
She also noted: “The concept of tourism does not seem clear to a lot of people since they only appreciate what is visual to them, when, in fact, it is a lot of planning and strategies and can become the top industry given its multiplier effect. There are several countries that truly prioritize tourism and ensure the long-term strategies for this and consistently prepare for its impacts on the economy, the social benefits, the environment, among others.”
Clemente, who is also president of the Asean Tourism Association and TCP executive vice president, added: “If the impression of tourism is merely artificial and merely short term and shallow promotion, then the industry will go nowhere. The mind-set of institutionalizing policies and implementing processes are just as key. This is why the leaders in the public sector need to be qualified.”
3 comments
W T F !!!!!
Let us just kiss Philippine tourism goodbye. Sad, very disappointing, sometimes one can’t help but wonder if the country shall forever be hopeless and always unlucky in having decent and capable leaders. In all angles, this development is really and truly and simply not good. Not good at all. It actually stinks.