RAMON R. JIMENEZ, an advertising and marketing executive, has been appointed the country’s new Tourism chief.
Mr. Jimenez, who took his oath of office yesterday in Malacañang, replaced Alberto A. Lim whose resignation became effective on Wednesday.
The appointment was announced late that day in Beijing by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III.
“He’s a marketing, advertising guy and, you know, tourism I think is primarily a marketing effort because the product is already there,” said Mr. Aquino, who is currently on a state visit to China.
Mr. Jimenez’s oath was administered by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr.
“You have fundamentally the core truth and somebody turns it into a proposition people cannot refuse. That’s how it works and hopefully that’s what I will be able to do,” Mr. Jimenez told Palace reporters.
Asked whether his background was the main reason he was given the portfolio, Mr. Jimenez replied: “I think it is important, yes. Is it the only reason? I certainly hope not. He (Mr. Aquino) knows me to be a manager of business as well.”
“[Tourism’s] ultimate goal is not merely to improve statistics on tourist arrivals. Its real goal is to generate fulfilling and profitable income and employment … We have no business engaging in this industry if it’s not going to benefit our people. So we’ve got to build an entire industry that is focused on generating income and employment,” he said.
Mr. Jimenez said that he had spent the past week conferring with Mr. Lim on the details of the job, and claimed that he intended to keep as much of the programs left behind by his predecessor.
He declined to provide more details but indicated that branding — Mr. Lim was widely criticized for a botched attempt to create a new tagline for the country — was a priority.
“The Philippines has to have a competitive campaign based on a proposition that offers people real value for their time and money … what do we have to say to someone who lives about 6,000 kilometers away in Norway for him to come all the way here? You have to have a very single-minded proposition that comes alive in his head,” Mr. Jimenez said.
He also said that his assumption of the Cabinet post was too new to consider a reshuffle at the Tourism department, but warned that he would not tolerate laggards.
“I’m very big on deadlines. You tell me you deliver Friday; I will expect you to deliver Friday. That work ethic will probably carry through wherever I go … I have to be on time and I have to be right all the time.”
Quizzed over a revamp of the Aquino administration and any apprehension on his part over security of tenure, Mr. Jimenez noted, “That I will be subject to removal in the future, that’s not my problem, that’s the president’s problem. That’s his decision; he’s going to agonize over that, not me. My job is to do it.”
Malacañang said that prior to his appointment, Mr. Jimenez was joint chief executive officer and senior consultant of Makati-based WOO Consultants. He had previously founded JimenezBasic Advertising and served as joint chief executive officer from 1989-2008. The Palace also said that he was “closely associated with the rise of many of the country’s leading brands.”
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By: JPDP
Source: Business World, Sept. 1, 2011
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