THE PHILIPPINES – AUGUST 12, 2011 – Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Alberto Lim announced his resignation at Malacañang Palace this morning just before noon, citing personal reasons for his departure. The resignation takes effect on August 31. President Benigno Aquino III accepted Lim’s resignation on August 8 and is currently looking for a replacement.
In just over a year as tourism head, Lim remains best known for the “Pilipinas, Kay Ganda” (Philippines, So Beautiful) tourism logo controversy last year that ended with the resignation of then-Undersecretary Vicente Romano.
Lim told the press today that the constant travel required by the position took its toll on him and that his successor will be very busy, as the secretary’s September schedule is already full. He admitted that he was not used to the demands of government service and plans returns to the private sector.
The Palace cited that during Lim’s term, there was an increase of half a million visitors to the country versus the same period the prior year. Lim advocated the "pocket open skies" policy.
Meanwhile, rumors have been floating that veteran adman Mon Jimenez has been appointed to the post. “The President has not spoken to me about this. News is partly speculative,” Jimenez said to adobo this morning. Jimenez founded what is now Publicis JimenezBasic and is currently consultant at Woo Consultancy.
The new Tourism secretary will continue the bidding for the country branding campaign, which was opened two months ago. Of the seven shortlisted ad agencies, sources say that only one agency will move on to the presentation in September.
Yesterday, “Pilipinas, Tara Na!”, a partnership between DOT, Perceptions Inc and Smart Communications, debuted online. An update of the widely popular “Biyahe Tayo!”, it is the first of three new songs for domestic tourism promotion.
