WHEN we caught initial glimpses of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco on TV, the Ateneo-trained lawyer and daughter of the formidable Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia struck us as quite serious, often unsmiling.
Then she visited the Department of Tourism (DOT) building in Makati and the comments I mostly heard were, “She’s so nice!” Or “Ang sweet naman ni Sec!” Apparently, Frasco slayed the employees with her Cebuana charm, gamely posing and holding up their mobile phones to take group photos with them.
On her first day, the secretary fed her 400 employees at the Makati office with the famed Cebu lechon (one per floor is what my sources tell me), with a packed lunch which included chicken, pastries, pasta, a side dish, along with soft drinks and water. “Of course, everyone was delighted,” said an insider.
I finally got a chance to sit down with Frasco for a brief chat, and asked Fodor-like questions to find out her personal travel stories. In the same room was her husband Cebu Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco, and great grandson of Margarita Frasco, aka Titay, whose line of rosquillos and other biscuits is the pride of Liloan.
They were catching a flight to Cebu, thus the short interview, and she was to meet regional directors and private tourism groups in the following days. Waiting for them, of course, were their four incredibly cute children. “[We had] one baby after every election since our drive in Liloan was to increase our population for cityhood, so we made sure to do our share,” Frasco joked via Viber.
I’m a first-time visitor to Liloan. Where will you bring me?
Our municipality actually has the distinction of hosting one of the last functioning Spanish-American-era lighthouses, Bagacay Point Lighthouse. It still works, and it’s being maintained by the Coast Guard. A little distance away from that is the original lighthouse called Bantayan sa Hari, which is also a heritage structure. We also have the only church that does not face the sea, but rather faces inland—the San Fernando El Rey.
We have a very long stretch of beach actually featured a year ago in the Changi publication in their airport. We also have a mixed water sports park, called Papa Kit’s, and a newly completed world-class 18-hole golf course that comes with condominium facilities, specifically targeting Japanese retirees.
We now have a dragon fruit farm in one of our mountain barangays, and we have a mini Chocolate Hills.
Have you traveled to other parts of the country, and if so, did you come across anything unexpected in other destinations?
One of the places that I found to be very beautiful and rich in just natural beauty would be Samar. Just the raw beauty of it, the sights, the lush mountainside. Very pristine.
In the fifth district (of Cebu), there’s Camotes Islands; our beaches are really quite pristine and rather beautiful. And of course, the Mindanao region still has so many places that have yet to be fully developed as far as access [is concerned].
What do you think are the common misconceptions about the Philippines and traveling around the country?
Perhaps the question should be, “What are the common conceptions?” Compared to our neighbors, perhaps the ease of travel has a lot of potential for development, especially as far as connectivity is concerned. Like, for example, the availability of direct flights to our most famous tourism sites is not as many as we would want.
Earlier, I got a briefing—as we were discussing flights, [I found out] there’s only one direct flight to Aklan, which is ironic because it’s one of the most famous places in the Philippines.
In a digital world, it’s also very important to be able to be on par with our neighbors as far as the ease with which a tourist can arrange a visit to our country and not have to go through so many different portals to book his plane, his hotel, the ride from the airport to the hotel. Or in the case of our other sites, after you arrive at the airport, you have to ride a car and then you have to ride a boat before you get to your final destination. So, these are aspects of traveling to the Philippines that could perhaps bear even close examination.
Secondly, as we’ve already discussed, there’s simply so much to explore and discover still. So since your question revolves around misconception, it would be only the well-known places are available for travel as far as the Philippines is concerned.
You’ve said you want to push food tourism. What interesting delicacies or standout dishes have you discovered in other destinations?
I was recently in Davao, and there is just a variety with which they prepare the tuna that is so amazing. They utilize different parts of the fish and different methods of cooking them. That was quite a revelation for me. [Note: The popular Marituna restaurant prepares tuna in 10 different ways.]
I was also in Vigan for our League of Municipalities General Assembly, and they have some very interesting local dishes like their version of the empanada. I also grew up in Ormoc, and lived there for 10 years and the seafood there is quite exotic like you know, raw shrimp, jumping salad, and things like that.
What are your travel must-haves? What can you not leave without?
My family! The whole gang together. We recently traveled to Singapore. It was quite a breath of fresh air, literally. The mask mandate there has already been lifted. We were able to enjoy fully the outdoors.
We took the kids to a hawker center and several local restaurants and let them enjoy local flavors and cuisine. We also visited the Singapore Night Safari, Bugis Street, and visited temples to give the kids an appreciation of local culture.
We also took them to Marina Bay Sands, the Art Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and several bookstores for a well-rounded experience of Singapore.
Hotels or Rent-a-home/apartment?
We normally stay in a hotel.
What should tourists not do when traveling around the Philippines?
Rather than adopting a prohibitive and restrictive approach to tourism, I would rather encourage tourists to explore our many islands, as we have so much to offer—from our already well-known beaches and destinations to the lesser-known towns, which are no less attractive and worthy of discovery.
Image credits: Christina Garcia Frasco, DOT