Lacierda unaware of any plan to replace DOT's Lim

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Thursday said he was unaware of any plan to replace Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim amid rumors that the latter is on his way out. In fact, Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III met with Lim on Monday to give instructions on what the president wanted to see from the Tourism Development Plan. That same day, Lim reported to Aquino the accomplishments of his department in the past year, Lacierda said. "The important thing is the President conferred with Mr. Lim… the President gave instructions to the secretary of tourism and the secretary of tourism reported to the President what he’s been doing for the past year," he said. "What’s important is that the secretary of tourism reports to the President the projects under [the] DOT and that’s the only thing that matters," he added. Lacierda said Aquino was satisfied with Lim’s response and there will be further meetings between the two. Expression of support Earlier, a report by the BusinessMirror newspaper quoted tourism industry players as expressing support to Lim amid the rumors allegedly attributed to unnamed Malacañang sources. Pacific Asia Travel Association, for example, wrote a letter to Lim condemning and expressing disdain "for this scurrilous attempt to unseat you. For the record, we cannot believe for a moment that the President has any such intentions." The other organizations supporting Lim's stay in his post were the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Palawan Tourism Council, Davao Region Tourism Council, Philippine Travel Agencies Association and Southeast Asian Airlines, the BusinessMirror report said. Lacierda said the President will take note of the expression of support. "Of course if the tourism community is supportive of Secretary Bertie Lim, certainly the President will also take note of their support," he said. Earlier, Aquino said he finds two to three of his Cabinet members as a big ‘burden,’ although he refused to name the officials. He added that he will talk to the concerned officials to express his frustration over their performance and if they will not mend their ways, he might give them a different assignment. — RSJ, GMA News