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 Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) under Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo. She took her oath of office at the Malacañang Palace on August 15, 2016. She later resigned from her post in 2018 after being asked by Secretary

Bernadette Romulo-Puyat Bernadette Fatima Tecson Romulo-Puyat (born May 14, 1971) is a Filipino government official, economist, and academic who served as the Secretary of Tourism under the Duterte administration from May 2018 to June 2022, heading the Philippines' To ...

to do so. After a year, she was re-appointed as President & CEO of Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). She previously served as the General Manager and Board Director of People's Television Network (PTV) from 2020 until 2022.

Biography

De Castro is one of the three children of former Vice President and ABS-CBN News anchor Noli de Castro and former ABS-CBN Current Affairs executive Arlene de Castro, who now heads

Bayan Productions Bayan Productions, Inc. is a Philippine television production company established in 1995 and is a partner of ABS-CBN. In collaboration with ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, the company is in charge of several current affairs programs that are b ...

. She was among the personalities who actively support the former Davao City Mayor and

Philippine President The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

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 ...

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

during the

2016 Philippine presidential election The 2016 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on Monday, May 9, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election. This was the 16th direct presidential election in the Philippines since 1935 and the fifth sextennial pre ...

. In fact, she is a co-organizer of the DU31: One Love, One Nation Thanksgiving Party held last June 4, 2016, at the Davao Crocodile Park. She was the former host of the travel show ''

Trip na Trip ''Trip na Trip'' was a Philippine travel show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Produced by Bayan Productions in cooperation with ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, it aired from February 5, 2006 to July 22, 2011 and was initially hosted by Katherine de Cast ...

'' and business magazine show '' Swak na Swak'', both produced by Bayan Productions, their own production house, and aired on ABS-CBN. She was also a host for her father's own public affairs program

Magandang Gabi, Bayan ''Magandang Gabi... Bayan'' () named after the signature open and closing lines of Noli de Castro, was a Philippine news magazine program which aired on ABS-CBN. It premiered on August 21, 1988, and ended on December 31, 2005. History The prog ...

and a reporter for ABS-CBN News. De Castro finished Communication Arts degree at Miriam College.

Controversies

De Castro was involved in several controversies in relation to her short stint as Tourism undersecretary. She received overwhelming backlash from netizens who believed there was conflict of interest for allowing her boyfriend, musician Pancho Juanitez, to perform in DOT-sponsored events. Juanitez was also spotted chauffeuring de Castro in official gatherings of the agency. In May 2018, Commission on Audit (COA) found that there is a memorandum of agreement on file between the DOT and the government-owned People's Television Network (PTV) requiring the latter to air a 6-minute tourism advertisement section in PTV's Kilos Pronto, a public service program. This has been criticized, since at the time of the agreement the Department of Tourism Secretary was

Wanda Tulfo Teo Wanda Corazon Teshiba Tulfo-Teo (; born November 4, 1952) is a Filipino travel agent who served as Secretary of the Philippines' Department of Tourism under the Duterte administration from July 2016 until her resignation on May 8, 2018. Early ...

, the sister of the producers and hosts of the show ( Erwin and Ben Tulfo). De Castro was summoned at the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for questioning being the chair of DOT's Bids and Awards Committee, which oversees the bidding process of the contractors for the projects and activities of the department. De Castro approved an invitation to bid for the procurement of jackets to be given to birthday celebrants in the DOT worth . The said practice of providing jackets was halted by the succeeding DOT Secretary,

. In August 2018, Romulo-Puyat requested de Castro to vacate her position in relation to the irregularities that occurred in her office. She was then appointed to become a member of the board of directors of Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) on August 22.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Kat de Living people 1978 births Filipino journalists Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation people ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people Duterte administration personnel Miriam College alumni