By Analou De Vera
Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre filed his courtesy resignation on Tuesday, following the directive of the newly appointed Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo- Puyat.
Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a letter addressed to President Duterte, Alegre stated that he handed his resignation "as a result of the recent events at the DOT."
"I would be honored to give you and the new DOT Secretary, Berna Romulo- Puyat, a free hand to determine who would be allowed to continue to serve in the said department," said Alegre.
"When I accepted this post in 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.
Alegre said that he tried to "heed that call" of the President to the best of his abilities.
The tourism official said that due to "unforeseen circumstances, I feel it is necessary to tender this courtesy resignation because we all just definitely serve at the pleasure of the President."
Alegre also expressed that he was honored to serve the government.
In her first press conference on Tuesday, Puyat had asked the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the DOT to hand in their courtesy resignations.
Puyat was appointed as the Tourism chief after former Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo resigned amid the controversial P60-million advertising deal between the department and state-run People's Television Network.
Read more: Puyat asks DOT Usecs, Asecs to file courtesy resignations