ACTOR Cesar Montano has resigned as chief operating officer of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).
The resignation was contained in a letter to President Duterte through Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, dated May 22, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror. In his letter, Montano said, “In faithful adherence to my duty as a public servant, I am respectfully tendering my courtesy resignation [emphasis his] as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) effective immediately.”
Montano added, “I am truly grateful for the trust and the opportunity you have bestowed upon me to serve our country through the Tourism Promotions Board.”
In a text message, Tourism Secretary-designate Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said, “Mr. Montano’s resignation has been accepted by the President. The post of COO is now considered vacant and the search for his replacement will commence.”
She added, “I would like to consider this matter closed—from my active involvement—but trust that the COA [Commission on Audit] will get to the bottom of this episode.” The tourism chief has yet to appoint an officer-in-charge (OIC) for TPB.
The resignation came on the heels of Montano’s talk with Duterte last Friday, to explain his side on the controversial P80-million Buhay Carinderia Redefined project that the TPB had sponsored. Despite his explanation, however, Duterte still told him to give up his post as TPB COO, sources said.
Documents obtained by this paper showed the TPB paid Marylindbert International Inc., an event organizing company owned by one Erlinda Legaspi, in three tranches from March to April, even before Buhay Carinderia—a festival celebrating street cafes and street food—had started. The project was sponsored without any apparent proper bidding and evaluation. (See related story in this issue, “Culinary tourism takes a hit as probe unearths how Buhay Carinderia ‘redefined’ TPB approval route”)
In fact, the last check, amounting to P35.84 million, was released on April 17 to Marylindbert, or just six days after the project was formally launched in a media event at the grand ballroom of the Rizal Park Hotel (formerly Army Navy Club). All three checks bore the signatures of former Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo and Montano. (See, “Tourism chief orders bidding for all projects,” in the BusinessMirror, May 18, 2018.)
Industry stakeholders welcomed the news of Montano’s resignation. Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose Clemente III said: “Under the circumstances, it was the right and only thing to do. Let due process take its course with regard to the allegations against the former COO. We now look forward to a new COO who can help us come up with a substantive and effective marketing program to make up for the last couple of years.”
In a separate memo to Romulo Puyat dated May 21, Montano suggested the designation of an officer in charge and suggested three people: Maricon B. Ebron, OIC for the Office of the Deputy COO for Marketing and Promotions; Joselito V. Gregorio, OIC, Office of the Deputy COO for Corporate Affairs; or Leah Marie C. Sy, manager, Management Information Systems Department, and attached an office order for the secretary’s signature.
Montano was at the Department of Tourism last Friday afternoon for TPB’s presentation to Romulo Puyat of the agency’s projects for this year. TPB is the marketing arm of the DOT and was among the department’s units that briefed the new tourism chief of their programs.
In a radio interview on Friday morning, Montano said he had expressed reservations at the speed by which the checks were released, and that Legaspi was a personal friend of Teo. “Lumalabas po talaga project namin dahil TPB ang naglabas ng pera pero si Linda (Legaspi) po, siya (Teo) ang nagpakilala sa akin niyan. Kilala po niya si Linda. ’Yan po ay kaibigan niya. (It’s true that it was our project because we paid for it, but Teo was the one who introduced Linda to me. She is Teo’s friend.)”