Noynoy Aquino mourns passing of former DOT secretary Jimenez

Former president Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday paid tribute to former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez who passed away on Monday, crediting him for boosting the country’s tourism with his “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign.

“Mon as our Tourism Secretary achieved so much without ever complaining about the lack of hotels, facilities, airports, and infrastructure. He instead made do with what we had, and the results speak for themselves,” Aquino said in a statement.

Aquino said the original target for 2016 for domestic tourism was at 35.5 million tourists, but it was surpassed in Jimenez's first year at the Department of Tourism with 37.5 million domestic tourists.

Aquino added domestic tourism receipts more than doubled during his term from P713.8 billion in 2010 to about P1.5 trillion as of the end of his term.

He also said international arrivals grew at an annual average of 8.8 percent from 3.52 million tourists in 2010 to 5.36 million in 2015, as international tourism receipts increased from P135.5 billion in 2010 to P274.6 billion before they left office.

“Might I note that for every foreign tourist coming to our shores, that resulted in one job created for the Filipino. Such contributed to the growth of local industry and the economy, empowering those in the sectors positively affected to take hold of their own destinies,” Aquino said.

“I was indeed fortunate to have a Cabinet whose members for the most part had a singular agenda: the improvement of the lot of our bosses. Serving them was so enriching, that we felt achieving the impossible would just take a little longer,” he added.

Aside from being a Tourism chief, Aquino said Jimenez was also instrumental in crafting messages of his administration.

“He helped unify the majority of our people towards achieving the success that we could be proud of as a nation,” he said.

While Aquino said he was saddened by Jimenez’s passing, he added his life was “truly well lived.”

“[A] life where he gave generously to the betterment of his fellowman, can we begrudge him for being in a better state now, back in the company of his beloved Abby,” he said.

Jimenez was appointed by Aquino as the acting secretary of the DOT in September 2011 to replace former secretary Alberto Lim. He led the agency until 2016.

Prior to his appointment, Jimenez worked in the field of advertising for more than 30 years. He was the former joint chief executive officer and senior consultant at WOO Consultants. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News