TOURISM OFFICIAL NOT REMOVED BECAUSE OF CASH ADVANCES

THIS has reference to the article “Duterte names 2 tourism officials,” which came out in the August 3, 2018 issue of the Manila Times (http://www.manilatimes.net/dutertenames-2-tourism- officials/426111/) which stated the following:

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Ma. Rica Buena as assistant secretary for the Department of Tourism ( DoT).

She replaced Ma. Lourdes Japson, who was removed from office for allegedly receiving questionable cash advances.

Duterte also appointed Zamboanga City District 1 Councilor Myra Paz Abubakar as DoT director, replacing Antonio Blanco.

Ricardo Bernabe 3rd was also appointed on July 12 as an ex- officio member of the Career Executive Service Board, replacing Naealla Rose Aguinaldo.

I am specifically calling your attention on the above item that says I was removed from office for

allegedly receiving questionable cash advances. This statement is false, malicious and derogatory because as of the date and time that I wrote this letter (2:38 p.m. August 3, 2018), I had not received any official notice that I am being replaced. More importantly, I do not have any cash advances, more so questionable ones as evidenced by the attached certification issued by the Accounting Department of the Department of Tourism.

Moreover, I was recently appointed by the incumbent Secretary Bernadette Romulo- Puyat as the chair of the bids and awards committee ( BAC). If there were questions on my competence and integrity, and if I have liabilities, why then would she appoint me to chair the BAC a body that presides over procurement in the agency knowing that she is personally leading the investigations in various DoT transactions?

Your article/news item has caused me much pain and aggravation because it maligned my unblemished record both in the private sector and in this department. It besmirched my reputas