‘I HAVE BIG SHOES TO FILL’: Negrense is DOT-6 officer-in-charge

The officer-in-charge of the Department of Tourism (DOT)-6 said she has big shoes to fill with the retirement of her predecessor.

Cristine C. Mansinares, concurrent chief tourism operations officer (CTOO) for Western Visayas, was named DOT-6 officer-in-charge by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat late last month in lieu of retired director Atty. Helen J. Catalbas.

Catalbas exited the DOT after her second term extension expired on April 16, 2021. She served the department for 44 years.

“In the interest and exigency of the service, and in view of the end of the second term extension of Director Helen J. Catalbas beginning April 17, 2021, Ms. Cristine C. Mansinares, Chief Tourism Operations Officer, is hereby designated as Officer-in-Charge of the DOT Regional Office VI (Western Visayas),” Puyat said in Department Order 2021-023 dated March 26.

A tourism industry veteran, Mansinares brings to the DOT her 15-year extensive experience as a tourism officer having served the sector under various capacities.

Prior to her assignment in 2020 as CTOO of DOT-6, Mansinares also served as provincial tourism officer of Negros Occidental.

She also led in steering the Sipalay City tourism sector when she was the local government unit’s tourism executive.

Sipalay is a popular destination for divers, eco-watchers and beach lovers for its white sand resorts and other natural attractions.

“I have big shoes to fill,” Mansinares candidly said when asked for her reaction.

“Tin”, as her friends and colleagues call her, said her experience working in a cross-cultural environment has widened her perspectives on how tourism significantly impacts human and economic development.

She said she will prioritize the development of Slow Food Travel in Western Visayas to push for a sustainable tourism model by developing connections among small scale farmers, cooperatives and businesses.

She also vowed to raise awareness among visitors about the importance of preserving biodiversity, championing farm and organic agriculture tourism, cultural heritage promotion and local gastronomy, among others.

She will also continue Catalbas’ program centered on growing local tourism economy and finding new opportunities to restart tourism through the “Safely Experience Western Visayas First Campaign”.

Earlier, Catalbas said domestic tourism will help the industry recover in a post-pandemic scenario as local visitors account for 80 to 85 percent of arrivals in the region, especially in Boracay Island.

Mansinares said that the rehabilitation and recovery of the tourism industry are major challenges she must deal with, together with key industry stakeholders, in the light of the COVID-19 crisis.

“The pandemic calls us to be resilient and innovative as we slowly reopen the tourism sector in the region,” according to Mansinares, who hails from Sagay City.

Like her predecessor, Mansinares was also an academic achiever. She received her bachelor’s degree in tourism from Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod where she graduated magna cum laude and class valedictorian in 2005.

She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration degree from the University of San Agustin-Iloilo in 2008 and in the same year, finished a short course on Tourism Promotion and Marketing at the Tokyo International Center under the Japan International Cooperation Agency grant.

In 2015, she completed her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in Bacolod City.