Duck-like Cabinet wannabe

It was a graceful exit of sorts given last week to secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco to get out of the Department of Tourism (DOT). Without any ceremony, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) named Frasco to a new Cabinet-rank post as Presidential Adviser for Sustainable and Resilient Communities last March 12. This ended weeks, if not months, of rumors of individuals purportedly being eyed, or should I say wanting to become, the new DOT secretary.

In his speech in Mactan City, Cebu last Monday, PBBM conceded the Philippine tourism sector has been “under a great deal of pressure” in coping with the stiff competition in terms of luring tourists to come and visit our country. PBBM promised to become a “hands-on” driver to steer the country’s tourist arrivals volume up and out of the deep-end.

The President made the candid admissions in Mactan City where he flew to inaugurate the newly opened Mactan Expo. With the Philippines as chairman of the 2026 ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN ministers of tourism meeting was held at the Mactan Expo where PBBM was a no-show to address it last January. As it turned out, it became the swan song for Frasco as the chairperson for the ASEAN Tourism Ministerial meeting.

Before she joined the Marcos Cabinet, Frasco was re-elected mayor of Liloan City in Cebu. She was then the official spokesperson of former Davao City mayor Sara Duterte under the defunct UniTeam during the May 2022 national elections. She gave up her third and last term as Liloan mayor in June 2022 and accepted the Cabinet post.

With her bowing out of the DOT, the 44-year-old Frasco will now have more time at home with their three growing up children. She is married to Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco (fifth congressional district of Cebu). In his Facebook post last year, Rep. Frasco wrote he wished his wife to return to the family full time when rumors hit the headlines that the DOT chief is on the way out of the Marcos Cabinet.

The last straw was the reported offer supposedly given to Special Trade Representative to Tokyo Ditas Angara-Mathay to become the new DOT secretary. However, the usually articulate press officer Claire Castro suddenly clammed up. 

A lawyer by profession, Frasco will still have her hands full though in her new office as presidential adviser. As such, she is tasked to, among other things, take charge of checking and monitoring all government-assisted programs and projects on calamity and disaster-stricken communities all over the country.

PBBM gave these tasks to Secretary Frasco in her new role while many areas across the country face increasing climate-related hazards and disruptions that affect local economies and livelihoods. As a former local government executive, her linkages and networking with the various sectors she had established at the DOT will help her in the implementation and sustaining follow-through of priority national initiatives at the community level.

To date, the President has yet to appoint a replacement for Frasco. In the meantime, one of Frasco’s five deputies at the DOT, undersecretary Verna Buensuceso, was named officer-in-charge (OIC). Buensuceso is the DOT head for tourism development in charge of foreign offices, product development.

Take note, an OIC, not “acting” secretary, was designated to fill the latest Cabinet vacancy.

So that means the talent search is still on for a new DOT secretary. PBBM needs to find someone with a short learning curve in order to hit the ground running during his last three years in office while the Middle East crisis evolves.

Once appointed, PBBM will now have nine Cabinet members with line departments who need to go through the confirmation process by the Commission on Appointments (CA). For whatever reason, the Office of the President (OP) has not submitted to the CA the individual nominations of the eight department heads.

Only last March 4, PBBM gave a new post to former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Raphael Lotilla as the new Philippine ambassador to the Holy See. Since the 20th Congress is in session, PBBM named an “acting” secretary, a very qualified senior DENR Undersecretary Juan Miguel “Mitch” Cuna, while the CA finally confirmed Lotilla in the diplomatic post.

The 20th Congress is set to adjourn for their scheduled one-month Lenten break. As the chairman of the 25-man congressional bicameral body, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III insisted all presidential appointees must go through the CA wringer whether named while Congress is in session or not. In our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last week, Sotto disclosed the OP has not yet submitted to the CA the nominations of these newly appointed Cabinet officials.

Sotto explained the President issues an ad interim appointment to enable the Cabinet official to discharge already his or her functions officially while Congress is adjourned. When Congress resumes sessions, Sotto further explained, the President needs to re-submit the nomination of the appointee as “acting” secretary until such time his or her appointment is approved and confirmed by the CA.

Based on previous experience, Sotto cited the past Congress amended its rule that the CA must vote to approve or reject the appointment of a presidential nominee if he or she is by-passed for the third time.

The other Marcos Cabinet nominees whose nominations have not gone through the CA gauntlet and remain as “acting” secretaries are as follows: Executive Secretary Ralph Recto; Finance Secretary Frederick Go; Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida; Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Toledo; Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez; Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez.

Like Frasco, another Marcos Cabinet member is also being frequently rumored as being on the way out. One Cabinet wannabe reportedly announced already his resignation from his present government post after being mentioned to replace Frasco. He even reportedly wrote a letter to PBBM stating he is ready, willing and able to serve in his Cabinet.

Clue: if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, it must be a duck.