Michael S. Muli Jr.

BSTM 3B

1. DEPARTMENT SECRETARY

Figure 1HON. MARIA ESPERANZA

CHRISTINA GARCIA FRASCO

BIOGRAPHY

Maria Esperanza Christina Garcia Frasco (born December 25, 1981) is the current Secretary of the
Department of Tourism after being appointed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in 2022,
and the youngest member of the Cabinet so far. She is a lawyer, having graduated from Ateneo Law.

CAREER

The incoming Secretary of Tourism is the newly-reelected Mayor of Liloan, Cebu. Her transformational
leadership has fostered Liloan’s development towards sustainability, livability, and innovation with
aggressive infrastructure development and social protection programs earning awards for Liloan as the
Top Model Municipality and Most Resilient Municipality in the Philippines. Under her administration,
Liloan now has one of the largest educational scholarship programs in the country, with yearround arts,
culture, and sports tourism programs. Throughout the challenges of the pandemic and the super
typhoon that recently devastated Cebu, she has led Liloan’s recovery and resurgence towards becoming
the LGU with the highest growth rate in Cebu. Under her leadership, Liloan has the distinction of being a
four-time recipient of the highest audit rating given by the Commission on Audit, and it has received
more than 40 good governance awards and citations from local and national award-giving bodies. In
2021, she was awarded the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Regional Award by the Civil Service Commission
in its Search for Outstanding Government Workers. She was also ranked the Top Performing Mayor in
Central Visayas, ranking number 1 among all Municipal Mayors in the entire Region 7. She is the first
woman President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines Cebu, and the National Vice
President of the League of Municipalities. Prior to entering public service, she worked for Romulo Law
practicing international arbitration and commercial litigation. She was also a Professor at the University
of San Carlos College of Law. She was appointed by Vice President Sara Duterte as her Spokesperson for
the 2022 National Elections.
MARINDUQUE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Marinduque MSMEs earn P5-M in trade expo

The Department Trade and Industry (DTI) Marinduque Provincial Office partnered with the Provincial
Government of Marinduque, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marinduque, Local
Government of Boac, and Marinduque Tourism Development Council to bring back the much-
anticipated tourism trade fair- Marinduque Expo.

This year’s run of the trade expo was organized from 10 – 17 April 2022 at the Marinduque Expo
Ground, Boac, Marinduque, with the theme, “Marinduque: Ekonomiyang Muling Magbubukas para sa
Mas Masaganang Bukas”.

DTI Marinduque Provincial Director Roniel M. Macatol underscored in his opening message that the
MSMEs’ recovery amidst the pandemic served as DTI’s inspiration to deliver beyond the expectations of
the agency’s mandate. He also encouraged residents as well as tourists to support local products to help
MSMEs and further improve the local ecionomy.

2. TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

Figure 2 Bayan ng Gasan, "PARADAHAN"

Figure 3 Marinduque Airport at Gasan, Marinduque

 3. LODGING INDUSTRY

LUXOR BEACH RESORT

Figure 4 Luxor Beach Resort

Situated in Gasan, 700 m from Pangi, Luxor Resort and Restaurant features accommodation with a
restaurant, free private parking, a bar and a garden. This 3-star hotel offers a 24-hour front desk, room
service and free WiFi. The hotel has a private beach area.

The rooms are fitted with air conditioning, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a kettle, a bidet, a
hairdryer and a desk. The units have a private bathroom, free toiletries and bed linen.

The hotel offers a à la carte or American breakfast.

The area is popular for snorkelling, and car hire is available at Luxor Resort and Restaurant.

Popular points of interest near the accommodation include Dili, Matandang Gasan and Pingan. The
nearest airport is Marinduque Airport, 5 km from Luxor Resort and Restaurant.

PANORAMIC BEACH HOUSE

Figure 5 Panoramic Beach House

Panoramic Beach House in Gasan, Marinduque. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms Airbnb House in Gasan,
Marinduque, MIMAROPA, Philippines. Max Occupancy of 12 persons. Minimum nightly stay 1 night.
 4. FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

Curba Grill

5. ATTRACTION and ACTIVITIES INDUSTRY

Kalesayahan Festival

Figure 6 Kalesayahan Festival

Kalesayahan is a contraction of two Tagalog words, “kalesa”, a local horse-drawn vehicle and
“kasayahan”, festivity. A festival celebrating kalesas in Gasan town during the past decade to generate
interest in this form of local transportation and to preserve the few existing ones, has been successfully
undertaken in the month of August of every year. This is timed with the town’s celebration of its
founding anniversary.

A mode of transportation in the Philippines during the Spanish period is the kalesa, a horse-drawn cart
with two wheels that could take in up to four passengers, plus the kotsero, driver. It became a status
symbol for the wealthy to own a kalesa back then.

Kalesas have become a rarity today and could be found in places elsewhere, visited by tourists such as
Intramuros and Vigan. In the old Binondo district of Manila, few kalesa units are still in use and people
make use of them for short trips to transport goods that could not be loaded by other vehicles.

Kalesayahan’ was coined from the word ‘kalesa’ and ‘kasiyahan’, pleasure, and is the name of a festival
in Gasan that was introduced during the last decade.

St. Joseph Parish Church in Gasan,

Marinduque and the Garden of
Meditation

Figure 7 St. Joseph Parish Church in Gasan, Marinduque and the Garden of
Meditation

We were able to come back to the beautiful island province of Marinduque this June due to another
court hearing. This trip is much memorable since I brought with me not just my hubby but my mom and
aunt as well. I was thinking it’s the perfect opportunity for them to visit the island since no typhoons are
threatening the skies that week that we were scheduled to go there.

Another thing that made this trip more memorable is that we were able to tour around the municipality
of Gasan. One of our clients are based in Gasan, Marinduque and when they learned that we are staying
in Boac, they told us to visit Gasan since it’s the municipality after Boac. So on our second day in
Marinduque, we went to Gasan in the mid-afternoon.
We met up with our client at the St. Joseph Parish Church at Poblacion, Gasan, Marinduque. Like the
Boac Cathedral, the St. Joseph Parish
Church is perched on a hill. Hubby and I
took the stairs (a steep climb), while my
mom and aunt rode a vehicle uphill. All
the hard work and effort is worth it once
you’re at the top. The grandiose church,
which was originally built in 1609, boasts
not just a magnificent view of the town of
Gasan but also of a “Meditation Garden”.

TRES REYES ISLANDS, MARINDUQUE

Figure 8 TRES REYES ISLANDS, MARINDUQUE

The Tres Reyes Islands — Melchor, Baltazar, and Gaspar (the biggest) — sit off the coast of Gasan in
Marinduque. The islands have soft sand and blue waters where you can spend a couple of hours taking
photos, swimming, and beach bumming. This destination is an ideal weekend or summer getaway
because of its proximity and accessibility from Metro Manila. You don’t have to book a flight because
you can go there on a whim via bus and ferry.