Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco on Wednesday instructed all regional offices of the Department of Tourism (DOT) to remove any tourism materials bearing her image.
The directive followed the circulation of tarpaulins and other materials featuring her photo that drew public scrutiny.
Frasco said these materials may have been intended as “welcome materials” during her site visits and assessments.
She instructed DOT offices to advise local government units (LGUs) not to treat the matter as a distraction from tourism development, emphasizing that national priorities should take precedence. Frasco clarified that neither she nor the DOT had ever issued an order to produce such materials.
“There is no order to revoke, because there has never been such order,” she said. Frasco also addressed the publication of a magazine in Japan, which featured her image without her consent and did not use government funds.
She explained that the DOT maintains official social media accounts to report agency activities, including coverage of her visits to tourism sites, which explains why her image appears frequently on DOT platforms.
She said an immediate investigation was launched after the magazine’s release. It found that the publication had requested access to cover the Philippine Expo Pavilion in Osaka during the Philippine National Day launch.
The magazine’s cover photo and content were taken from event coverage, and no interviews were conducted with Frasco.
Frasco added that a demand letter was sent to the magazine to clarify that the publication was not a directive or editorial decision of the DOT, and that no government funds were used. (with reports from PNA)
Photo from JV Ejercito/Facebook
