Ma. Esperanza Christina Codilla Frasco (born Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia Codilla; December 25, 1981), also known as Christina Garcia Frasco, is a Filipino politician serving as
Secretary of Tourism since June 30, 2022. She was the mayor of
Liloan, Cebu
Liloan, officially the Municipality of Liloan ( ceb, Lungsod sa Liloan; tgl, Bayan ng Liloan), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
from 2016 to 2022.
Frasco is a lawyer by profession, having previously practiced international arbitration and commercial litigation in the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and Delos Angeles law firm. She is the daughter of incumbent Cebu
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Gwendolyn Garcia
Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia (born October 12, 1955) is a Filipina politician serving as the governor of Cebu since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 and 2013—being the first woman to hold that office. She was the representative of Ceb ...
and granddaughter of former governor and representative
Pablo P. Garcia
Pablo Paras Garcia (September 25, 1925 – August 18, 2021) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who have been the patriarch of the Garcia political clan of Province of Cebu. He was a longtime congressman and governor.
Early career
A topno ...
.
Education
She took her Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Management from the
Ateneo de Manila University
, mottoeng = Light in the Lord
, type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution
, established = December 10, 1859
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits)
, academic_aff ...
. She then continued on to study
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the same university in 2006 and later on passed the
bar examinations
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
.
Political career
Mayor of Liloan (2016–2022)
Frasco was elected Mayor of Liloan in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, succeeding her husband Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco. She was re-elected to her second term in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
In 2021, Frasco was awarded the prestigious Presidential Lingkod Bayan Regional Award by the
Civil Service Commission
A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...
in its 2021 Search for Outstanding Government Workers for her exemplary performance as a Local Chief Executive through proactive initiatives towards innovation in governance and sustainable and inclusive programs fostering excellence in government service. The Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award is conferred upon an individual for exceptional or extraordinary contributions resulting from performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security, and patrimony.
In a recent non-commissioned public satisfaction survey in August 2021, Frasco was the Top Performing Mayor in Central Visayas, ranking number 1 among the 116 Mayors in the entire Region VII, and number 1 among all 44 Municipal Mayors in the Province of Cebu.
Under Frasco’s administration, Liloan was awarded the Top Philippine Model Municipality in 2019 by
The Manila Times
''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...
. In the same year, Liloan was granted other national awards, namely, the Top Philippine Education Hub for its successful scholarship program that has supported over 10,000 scholars, Top Philippine Retirement Haven for programs promoting meaningful and joyful ageing among senior citizens, and Top Philippine Wealth Center for business friendliness and proactive programs on infrastructure and economic development. The local government was also awarded an “Unqualified Opinion” from the Commission on Audit in 2017, 2019, 2020. In 2019 and 2020, the Department of Trade and Industry awarded Liloan as the Most Resilient Municipality in the Philippines.
In 2019, Frasco was elected as President of the
League of Municipalities of the Philippines
The League of Municipalities of the Philippines - or more simply the League of Municipalities or LMP - is a formal organization of all the municipalities in the Philippines. Presently, sixty eight municipalities are part of this organization.
Stat ...
(LMP) – Cebu Chapter and as National Vice President of LMP. In July 2021, Frasco was appointed as the spokesperson of
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Sara Duterte
Sara Vicenta Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president, the third ...
.
Secretary of Tourism (2022–present)
Frasco ran for reelection in the
2022 Cebu local elections
Local elections were held in the province of Cebu on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 Philippine general election. Voters selected from among candidates for all local positions: a town mayor, vice mayor and town councilors, as well as members o ...
and was successful in winning her third term. However, she was later selected as the next
Secretary of Tourism by president-elect
Bongbong Marcos
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...
; she later accepted the offer. As mayor of Liloan, she was succeeded by her running mate and cousin-in-law, Aljew Frasco, who was initially elected as vice mayor that year.
During Frasco's tenure as tourism secretary, the ''
Love the Philippines'' tourism slogan was adopted beginning in 2023, replacing the decade-long ''
It's More Fun in the Philippines!
''It's More Fun in the Philippines!'' was the tourism marketing campaign of the Philippines from 2012 to 2023.
History Conceptualization
It's More Fun in the Philippines! was conceptualized in 2011 as the Philippines' tourism marketing campaign. ...
'' slogan.
Personal life
Frasco married Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco, the incumbent representative of the
5th district of Cebu, in August 2009. They have four children together.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasco, Christina
1981 births
Living people
PDP–Laban politicians
Lakas–CMD politicians
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members
21st-century Filipino lawyers
People from Cebu
Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines
21st-century Filipino women politicians
Women mayors of places in the Philippines
Filipino women lawyers
Secretaries of Tourism of the Philippines