Insiders from the Department of Tourism have indicated that former Undersecretary Theresa Ilagan Martinez had expressed happiness over the move of Congress to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Guiterrez.
Martinez who was removed from Office by the Ombudsman for practicing Nepotism is currently appealing the decision and trying to reverse it with the help of her patron who seats as one of the Board Members of the Foundation of former President Fidel V. Ramos.
DOT employees feel that a return of Martinez to the Department will derail the reorganization moves to prepare the DOT for future campaigns. It will be noted that upon the assumption of Bertie Lim to the Office of Secretary of the Department of Tourism, he promoted Martinez to the rank of Undersecretary without looking into her background. Martinez on the other hand filled all the positions in the DOT with her allies and ensured that Lim would be surrounded by people loyal to her like Undersecretary Jasmin and the current Director of the DOT Special Concerns Office.
Martinez at the onset of Lim’s appointment was heard to claim that she had the full trust and confidence of Secretary Alberto Lim and nothing goes to him without her approval or being consulted.
Her removal from office was a result of the a case filed by the head of the DOT Employees Cooperative back in 2007 where it was found that she had a direct hand in having her brother Mario ILagan hired in the San Francisco Office of the Department. The employee who filed the case has since died.
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San Lorenzo Village Monitor 