Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday lauded newly appointed Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for her record in public service.
She said Puyat, daughter of former senator, executive secretary, finance secretary and foreign affairs secretary Alberto Romulo, is a person with a reputable character that makes her the best choice for the Cabinet post.
Belmonte said Puyat’s public service is “very clean” and her credentials “perfect”—being a professor, magna cum laude graduate, and a longtime public servant.
“The thing about her is that, she has no bad track record. She’s very credible, so when she voices things out, people believe her, and people are rallying behind her,” she said.
“She’s very close to me. Berna is one of my closest friends even before,” the vice mayor added.
It is through Puyat’s help, when she was undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture, that Belmonte managed to kick off her Joy of Urban Farming program, she noted.
The tourism chief “can be a voice of inspiration for future leaders” as the vice mayor hopes it inspires President Rodrigo Duterte “to put in more people like her, purely professional, willing to call out when something is wrong.”