The “Love the Philippines” fiasco is a form of “sabotage” and “demolition job” against Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Frasco, a group of Cebu public officials said in a manifesto released Monday.
The Cebu officials, in a signed manifesto, also expressed their support to Frasco, saying: “Given the circumstances, it is not difficult to see that the goal of all this is to sabotage the great accomplishments of the DOT Secretary, who continues to deliver for the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.”
Signatories of the manifesto included 11 Congressmen of Cebu and 53 provincial mayors. Leading the signatories were Daanbantayan Mayor Sun J. Shimura and Barili Mayor Pablo John Garcia IV, the president and secretary of the League of Municipal Mayors Cebu Chapter, respectively.
Frasco is the daughter of Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, was the mayor of their hometown of Liloan in Cebu, and was the spokesman of eventual Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio during the 2022 elections.
“We maintain that this barrage of criticisms in social and mainstream media is aimed at destroying neither the DOT nor the concerned private advertisement agency, but Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco herself,” the group said.
The manifesto also said that Frasco is an “asset” to the Marcos administration and ranked second as top performing cabinet official next to Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. in a recent survey.
The government is investigating the “Love the Philippines” campaign video after netizens pointed out that stock videos, or non-original footages, were used for the promotional materials.