Bernadette Fatima Tecson Romulo-Puyat (born May 14, 1971) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

government official, economist, and academic who served as the Secretary of Tourism under the

Duterte administration Rodrigo Duterte became the 16th President of the Philippines on June 30, 2016, succeeding Benigno Aquino III. He was the first president from Mindanao, the first president to have worked in all three branches of government, and the oldest t ...

from May 2018 to June 2022, heading the Philippines' Tourism industry through the disruptions caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was iden ...

. She has since been appointed Deputy Governor of the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act ...

in charge of financial inclusion, regional operations, and the BSP's Program Management Office. Her previous positions include terms as a consultant for the Presidential Management Staff, Undersecretary for the Department of Agriculture, and lecturer at the

UP School of Economics The University of the Philippines School of Economics is a degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman (U.P.), where it occupies the buildings of the Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED). The school offers two Ba ...

Early life and education

Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is the fourth amongst the five children of Filipino politician and diplomat, Alberto Romulo and Lovely Tecson. She attended the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

and pursued an undergraduate and a master's degree in economics. She once aspired to become like her mother but later on, considering her exposure and familiarity to politics at early age, she ended up joining the Philippine political scene.

Career

Early career

Romulo-Puyat was an instructor at the

. After being in the academe, she joined politics in 2004 by attempting to become the First District Representative of Quezon City. However, she lost the elections to

Vincent Crisologo Vincent "Bingbong" Pichay Crisologo (born May 31, 1947) is a Filipino politician who served as the Representative of Quezon City's 1st District from 2004 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2019. He also served as a councilor in Quezon City from 1998 to ...

by 2,000 votes with Puyat readily conceding Crisologo's victory and deciding to thereafter spend more time with her family instead. Her brief political experience made her more aware of the conditions of the people affected by poverty, as a result, she put up "''Botika ng Bayan''" (People's Pharmacy) across some areas in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

to provide affordable medicines or

generic drugs A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ch ...

As Presidential Management Staff consultant

Puyat also worked with the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) as Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Economic Consultant during the tenure of President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

As Agriculture Undersecretary

Puyat became the Undersecretary for Special Concerns at the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the former Secretary

Arthur Yap Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong (; 1943 – 19 June 2006) was a Singaporean poet, writer and painter. Biography Arthur Yap was born in Singapore, the sixth child of a carpenter and a housewife. Yap attended St Andrew's School and the University of Si ...

. She ensured that foreign grants were directed accordingly to projects intended for farmers. She also focused on working with the agricultural concerns of women from the rural community that include financing technical support in provision of seedlings, planting materials, fermentation boxes and processing equipment for the

Manobo The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...

women farmers, promotion and marketing of agricultural products for the coffee farmers across

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

Bukidnon Bukidnon(), officially the Province of Bukidnon ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bukidnon; fil, Lalawigan ng Bukidnon; hil, Kapuroan sang Bukidnon; Binukid and Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the ...

and Mt. Kanlaon; and pili, cacao and cassava farmers across

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and ...

. She also took part in the establishment of an organic village for indigenous women farmers in Davao.

As Tourism Secretary

Following the resignation of Wanda Teo due to her alleged involvement with issues surrounding a tourism advertisement placement on

People's Television Network People's Television Network ( fil, Telebisyon ng Bayan; abbreviated PTV) is the flagship State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government of the Philippines. Founded in 1974, PTV is the main brand of People's Television Network, In ...

(PTV), Bernadette Romulo-Puyat was appointed by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

as Secretary of the Department of Tourism on May 11, 2018. Romulo-Puyat announced her plan to give farm tourism a focus and also made review on the Philippines' possible hosting of the

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of t ...

pageant which her predecessor was involved in. Romulo-Puyat dropped the Philippines' hosting bid due to budgetary concerns. Within her first month as Tourism Secretary, Romulo-Puyat alleged that corruption is rampant in the DOT claiming the existence of schemes involving "hundred of millions" of funds within the government agency. She ordered the suspension of all projects of the DOT pending review from the Commission on Audit. She also directed all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, including

Cesar Montano Cesar Manhilot (born August 1, 1962), known professionally as Cesar Montano (), is a Filipino actor, film producer and film director. Montano started in show business as a commercial model.

and

Kat de Castro Katherine Chloe Sinsuat de Castro-Cruz, (born October 18, 1978) also known as Kat de Castro, is a Filipino journalist, and former television personality, who was formerly the Undersecretary of Tourism Advocacy and Public Affairs of the Philippi ...

, to submit their courtesy resignations except for undersecretary Bong Bengzon.

Personal life

Romulo-Puyat was married to David Puyat, a lawyer, until his death in 2010. She has two children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romulo-Puyat, Bernadette Living people Secretaries of Tourism of the Philippines Duterte administration cabinet members Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines University of the Philippines alumni Benigno Aquino III administration personnel Arroyo administration personnel Bongbong Marcos administration personnel 1971 births