Tourism chief picks Bengzon as DOT spokesperson
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat names Undersecretary Benito “Bong” Bengzon Jr. as the new spokesperson for the Department of Tourism. (PHOTO from Department of Tourism)
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat designated Benito Bengzon Jr., Undersecretary for tourism and development planning, as the agency’s spokesperson.
Bengson replaced Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre, who resigned last week after Puyat ordered all former appointees of her predecessor, Wanda Tulfo-Teo, to submit courtesy resignations to President Rodrigo Duterte.
As a career official who worked at DOT for more than 30 years, Bengzon was exempted from the order.
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Bengzon served at the Department of Tourism for 32 years and was promoted to undersecretary under the term of former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez. He was also the agency’s spokesperson that time.Also expected to vacate their posts on Monday were Undersecretaries Katherine de Castro, Alma Rita Jimenez, Marco Bautista, and Pompee La Viña; and Assistant Secretaries Maria Lourdes Japson, Daniel Mercado, Eden Josephine David, and Arlene Mancao.
Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Ching, while eligible for a rank position, was not yet a career official.
During her oath-taking last week, Puyat said President Duterte gave her a free hand to choose her new officials, in a bid to get rid of corruption in the agency.
Last week, Puyat also revealed that she was inviting Arturo Boncato Jr., currently an assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry to be a Tourism undersecretary.
During the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, Boncato was the DOT regional director in Davao, and was later promoted as tourism assistant secretary, working under Jimenez. /ee
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