THE BOARD of Trustees of the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) holds the fate of its general manager and CEO, Cynthia Lagdameo Carrion, in its hands, following her reported rude behavior during the recent Senate plenary sessions on the proposed national government budget for 2024.
“The investigation is ongoing to give her an opportunity also to say her side,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco in an interview with the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) recent year-ender presentation of its accomplishments. “She has given her reply. What is left to be done is to refer it to the Board of the PRA.” Garcia-Frasco chairs the PRA board, which also includes Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli M. Remolona Jr., Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco, and DOT OIC-Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Verna Esmeralda C. Buensuceso as ex-officio members.
Under Republic Act No. 10149, which oversees the operations of government-owned and-controlled corporations (GOCC), “the CEO shall be subject to the disciplinary powers of the Board and may be removed by the Board for cause.”
It would be recalled that during the Senate’s marathon plenary hearings on the proposed national budget for 2024, lawmakers took turns lambasting Carrion for “inappropriate” text messages they received from her. She apparently complained that Deputy Minority Leader Senator Risa Hontiveros’s interpellations of budget sponsors of other government agencies, had been holding up the hearing of DOT’s own budget. Garcia-Frasco had to publicly apologize to the senators for Carrion’s messages. (See, “Senators reprimand tourism exec for rude text messages on budget,” in the BusinessMirror, November 22, 2023.)
Report to PBBM
The DOT chief said she had also submitted a report to the President about the incident. “It was a very factual report of everything that inspired including quotations (i.e., screen captures) of the messages that [Carrion] sent to senators,” adding, “It was just a disappointment in terms of her actuations and put at risk the budget of the entire department and attached agencies.”
Following the incident, senators no longer probed the DOT’s proposed P3.4-billion budget for 2024, and approved it in its entirety.
In a separate interview with reporters following the DOT’s year-ender event, Garcia-Frasco said the agency was pushing its marketing and promotions to the United States, Europe, and key Asian markets to boost tourist arrivals in the Philippines. “We want to open up the Philippines to European travelers since our diving, our surfing, our adventure, and the wellness destinations are quite in demand for these nationalities,” she said. “At the same time, we want to continue to strengthen our portfolio as far our Asian neighbors are concerned, especially that Japan continues to be one of our top source markets, the South Koreans are number one in terms of international arrivals to the country. And obviously, we also want to capitalize on global trends that would indicate the Chinese market continues to provide outbound tourism in large numbers.” The key, she noted, were more direct flights to the Philippines from the US and Europe.
The DOT has already expressed its concern on the suspension of the electronic visa platform for Chinese applicants. (See, “DOT awaits Palace response to its concern over e-visa suspension in China,” in the BusinessMirror, December 13, 2023.)
The agency has projected 7.7 million international arrivals in 2024 under its baseline scenario. As of December 12, the Philippines received 5.07 million foreign tourists.