Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco delivered a heartfelt and empowering message to the graduating class of Bulacan State University (BulSU) in Malolos City, Bulacan, urging the youth to embrace a life of purpose, resilience, and nation-building as they take flight into their professional futures.
Addressing the 1,108 graduates of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management (CHTM) and the College of Business Education and Accountancy (CBEA), Frasco shared her personal journey from being a law professor to becoming the youngest member of the Cabinet under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., highlighting the transformative power of service, humility, and compassion.
The ceremony, held at the KB Gymnasium in Malolos, carried the theme Salimbay, a Filipino term for soaring together, which the tourism chief likened to the collective hope and potential embodied by the graduates.
“The nation is calling. Answer it with brilliance, with courage, and with heart.”
“You’re not here to watch the future unfold. You are here to shape it. And I hope that each and every one of you do so with integrity, with excellence, and always with love for the Philippines,” the tourism head said.
“The nation is calling. Answer it with brilliance, with courage, and with heart. Congratulations, Class of 2025. Mabuhay kayo, at sa inyong paglipad, dalhin ninyo ang puso, ang dangal, at ang diwa ng pagiging Pilipino,” the tourism head added.
Frasco also fondly recalled her previous visit to Malolos in December 2024 for the Philippine Experience Program – Central Luzon leg, where she witnessed the deep devotion of Bulakeños to Señor Santo Niño. She reflected on this devotion’s profound connection with her home province of Cebu, where the same faith is a source of strength and identity.
“When we invest in our people, the return is exponential.”
Frasco also highlighted the significant gains under the Marcos Administration in tourism and human capital development. In 2024, tourism contributed 8.9 percent to the national GDP and supported nearly 10 million jobs.
“These achievements are not abstract. They are the pulse of recovery. They are jobs restored, communities revitalized, dignity regained. They are proof that when we invest in our people, the return is exponential,” she said.
Frasco cited the Department’s flagship programs, including the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE), which has trained over 322,000 individuals nationwide, including nearly 25,000 in Central Luzon, and the Tourism Industry Skills Program, which continues to offer livelihood-boosting trainings across the country, as well as the Tourist Rest Areas established nationwide and accessible loan facilities under the DOT’s collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Small Business Corporation.
She also announced the Tourism Startup Challenge, a nationwide competition encouraging students and young visionaries to bring fresh, sustainable, and tech-driven ideas into tourism.
“Class of 2025, you are not simply the next wave of professionals; you are the next stewards of our country’s progress. The challenges ahead will not always be easy. They never are. But neither is the path of leadership. And the country needs you, your ideas, your discipline, your courage, to meet this moment with clarity and conviction,” Frasco concluded.
BulSU’s leadership was in full attendance, led by University President Dr. Teody Cruz-San Andres and members of the Board of Regents and Executive Committee, including representatives from the faculty, alumni, non-academic personnel, and student body.
Also present at the ceremony were officials from the DOT, including Undersecretary Maria Rica Bueno, Assistant Secretaries Christine Joy Cari and Ronald Conopio, DOT Region III Regional Director Richard Daenos, and Director Glenn Albert Ocampo.
