An assistant secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday, May 15, filed for resignation following the call of newly appointed secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat for all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries to step down from their posts.
DOT Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre submitted his resignation addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte, saying the President and Puyat should have the freedom to choose who will serve in the tourism department.
“As a result of the recent events at the DOT, I would be honored to give you and the new DOT Secretary, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, a free hand to determine who would be allowed to continue to serve in the said department,” Alegre wrote.
“When I accepted this post (on) September 05, 2016, I took to heart the mandate you had given us to continue to promote tourism in the country so that its benefits could be felt by each and every Filipino,” he added.
“I have tried to heed that call to the best of my abilities. However, because of unforeseen circumstances, I feel it is necessary to tender this courtesy resignation because we all just definitely serve at the pleasure of the President,” he also wrote.
On her first day as tourism secretary, Puyat asked all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the tourism department to tender their resignation to give her a “free hand” to do her job.
