DOT gets flak after Frasco lands on magazine cover

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is in hot water again, this time after an advertising and production executive took a swipe at a magazine that prominently featured Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco on its cover.

“You made us shoot Region 1 to Region 13… (that’s) almost 320 tourist spots, 236,000 photos, 6,500 video materials. Then this is the one you use, DOT,” wrote Max Abasolo on his Facebook account with around 6,300 followers.

The post has since been taken down, but a screenshot of it made the rounds on social media, with comments mostly criticizing Frasco for being the “main attraction” instead of the country’s tourist destinations, based on a report by news website InterAksyon.

The Facebook post included a photo of the “Philippine Topics” magazine, where its cover displayed Frasco and carried the banner “Philippine Pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025 Draws Crowds Travel Interest Skyrockets.”

The STAR got hold of a copy of the 82-page “Philippine Topics” magazine, which is available for free, produced by YJS Advertising and Marketing Corp., edited and printed by B-Ticket Inc. and issued by both companies for its first issue last December 2025.

Pages four to 13 of the magazine featured the DOT and Frasco, as well as the Philippine Pavilion at the Osaka World Expo 2025, the National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028 and the issues and prospects for Philippine tourism from the Japanese traveler market.