Bernadette Romulo-Puyat
I finally got to sit down for a long one-on-one with newly minted Tourism Secretary Bernadette “Berna” Romulo- Puyat. (Watch the full video of our interview online on Tuesday in ManilaSpeak.com.)
I am happy to observe she remains the vibrant, enthusiastic, grounded Agriculture Undersecretary the food industry got to know during the three years of Madrid Fusion Manila (MFM), where she was hands on in showcasing Filipino products.
Here are some things we can be proud of in the less than two months she has been in office:
- MFM 2019 is definitely pushing through
The gastronomy congress, though canceled this year, will have two more editions beginning next year, living up to the contract of having five iterations.
To make up for the absence of the expo this year, caused by that ruckus with the Buhay Carinderia event, there will be an event in September called Fusion Manila that will work as a teaser for the main event next year.
“The reason we decided to postpone is that the bidding [for a venue and organizers] will probably take one to two months. I computed it and by the time we finish the bidding, it would be August at the earliest if we are lucky, and so September is [already] impossible,” she explains, adding she needs to be extra careful with the Commission on Audit (COA) watching the DOT’s every move due to recent controversies.
But with a Tourism Secretary who really understands how to promote the Philippines through food, we can rest assured that Puyat knows the value of bridging our farmers with local and international chefs through international expos.
“You see all these foreigners loving our indigenous products,” she says, remembering MFM with pride.
As Agriculture undersecretary, she was also able to promote Filipino produce not only to the foreign food and beverage industry but to local chefs as well.
“What I loved about [the MFM regional lunches organized by the Department of Agriculture] was that the local chefs started going local,” she says.
- President Duterte is a supporter of MFM
Little known fact: For the first MFM, the ingredients that were flown to Manila from Davao for the lunch fiestas organized by the DA were sponsored by Davao City through—you guessed it—former Mayor and now President Duterte. “The one that gave me most of my ingredients from Mindanao was then Mayor Duterte,” Puyat says. “That’s how he promoted Davao: Through the cacao, fruits, Kadayawan Festival … He always believed that one way to promote a place is through food.”
Puyat also says the President loves Filipino food. “He loves to eat but he likes Filipino food yung talagang Pinoy (like) kinilaw. He loves durian. He likes simple food.”
- Puyat is confident that top foreign chefs, once they try Filipino produce, will promote these themselves
She recalls “Kain Na!”, a DA project that showcased Filipino produce in Hong Kong. Chef Umberto Bombana of 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana would not believe that the cheese the DA brought was from Davao. “That’s Malagos cheese from Davao,” Puyat told him. “It’s made from goat’s milk.”
Bombana would later be seen carrying the cheese around, telling guests, “This is cheese from the Philippines!”
She says she will continue the projects she started at the DA, but this time under the DOT. These include Philippine Harvest Fair, a project in partnership with the private sector that seeks to promote local farmers’ crops to urban communities and food industry players.
- Boracay will open on Oct. 26 and will be a shining example of sustainable tourism
At the Cabinet meeting last June 11, Puyat clarified with the President if indeed Boracay will open this year. The question was deflected toward Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, who gave the date Oct. 26.
Due to the issues surrounding Boracay, Puyat has made sustainable tourism the DOT’s “overarching theme.”
“We don’t want another Boracay situation [of a great tourist destination being ruined by irresponsible development and practices that ruin the environment] so we want all the tourist destinations to practice sustainable tourism and responsible tourism,” she says.
She adds sustainable tourism goes hand in hand with responsible tourism. “People always think that it’s up to the government [to maintain a tourist destination]. It’s also up to the private sector—the hotels and even the tourists.”
- No more corruption
Puyat is also taking great pains to ensure there will be no more corruption at the DOT.
For the first time, the DOT is working with the COA to ensure that contracts, before Puyat even signs them, are above-board. Puyat contacted the COA herself to request for someone who can guide the DOT internally.
“The DOT does not have an internal control system,” Puyat admits. “So now short of preaudit, we have a guide.”
And to prevent another Buhay Carinderia situation from happening, Puyat—less than two months in office—came out with a department order that outlines the necessary projects it will undertake. “We now have guidelines on who can be funded or if there would be a need for bidding,” she explains, emphasizing the need to be prudent.
“The DOT budget is not that big [compared to other agencies] but for me, big or small, [that’s still taxpayers’ money].”
- She gets economic cluster’s approval.
For the first time, the DOT will now be part of the Cabinet’s economic cluster.
While the improvement in tourism data is also in large part due to the efforts of former Tourism chiefs, including Mon Jimenez and even Wanda Teo, it says a lot that the economics cluster has welcomed her.
This is probably because Puyat is an economist herself. Unbeknownst to many, Puyat, while obviously a pretty face, has a Masters Degree in Economics and was even a professor at the University of the Philippines for several years before joining the government.
With a good grasp of the role that tourism plays in spurring economic growth, the DOT will hopefully exceed the humble objective of reaching 12 million tourist arrivals per year by 2022.