Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said she will not run for senator in the May 2022 polls, adding that she would rather finish her stint in the agency.
"No, I’m not . I have decided last year I didn't want to run," Puyat said in an interview over ANC's Headstart.
According to Puyat, the possibility of running for a higher office crossed her mind before but the "pandemic changed everything."
"Maybe before the pandemic I thought about it, but at the start of the pandemic I said I'd rather finish all of our programs now with the Department of Tourism," she explained.
"The pandemic changed everything for me. The situation is also different now. Also, if you have to run, you have to resign by October and parang bitin na bitin (that's too soon). There are so many things that I want to finish in the DOT," Puyat added.
The tourism chief shared plans of possibly working in the private sector after finishing her tenure with the agency next year.
"I'll go back to the private sector. You can still help even in the private sector... I always wanted to serve and you can serve either in the government or in the private sectors," she said.
Puyat has been at the forefront of the local tourism industry's gradual and safe revival after the sector was brought down to its knees last year by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.