22 January 2001MANILA – Senior tourism undersecretary for planning Evelyn Pantig has been appointed officer-in-charge of the Department of Tourism (DoT) following the resignation of tourism secretary Gemma Araneta on January 19.
Pantig has been with the DoT since 1974, starting her career in the Philippine Tourism Authority as one of the managers. She was later assigned to the DoT as one of the regional directors. As an undersecretary, one of her contemporaries was former DoT secretary Mina Gabor.
Into her first day as OIC, it was business as usual for Pantig who started the morning at work by presiding over a security meeting that was scheduled long before the political unrest which climaxed to the change in administration took shape. The meeting would tackle concerns regarding the bombings which rocked Metro Manila on December 30. Outgoing Gemma Araneta and Philippine
National Police chief Panfilo Lacson were those in the original list of the panel.