MAKATI CITY -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte had promoted Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary for Mindanao, Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, as DOT Undersecretary, vice Benito C. Bengzon Jr., former Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning. Her appointment paper was signed by the President last August 3, 2021.
Valderrosa-Abubakar took her oath before Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat via Zoom Friday, a week after Bengzon, a long-time DOT executive availed of optional retirement after 35 years in government.
A three-termer City Councilor in Zamboanga (2010-2018), Valderrosa-Abubakar comes from an illustrious political family in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Her last term in the City Council and Vice President for Mindanao of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) was cut abruptly when she was appointed regional director for the DOT-Region IX. Because of her strong performance and her long and distinguished career as legislator in ZamPen, ValderrosaAbubakar was eventually promoted DOT Assistant Secretary for Mindanao, while serving concurrently as RD, bringing her much closer to the Regions.
As Asec for Mindanao, Valderrosa-Abubakar supervised and had oversight function over five DOT Regional Offices namely, DOT Region IX- ZamPen, Region X- Northern Mindanao, Region XI- Southern Mindanao, Region XII- South Central Mindanao and Region XIII- Caraga Region. She was able to unify the Regions and created her flagship project, the Colors of Mindanao, a tourism development initiative which gave a fresh new and colorful look at the untapped potentials of the Mindanao Regions, celebrating its diverse and rich culture and heritage. This initiative also focused on maximizing the benefit tourism has to offer to the communities especially to the indigenous peoples and small entrepreneurs.
A champion of the Halal Tourism, Valderrosa-Abubakar played a pivotal role in the development of Halal Culinary Tourism through her extensive engagements with the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). It aims to
promote the culinary heritage of Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The DOT recently launched the program as a series last July in time for the celebration of the Muslim festival Eid’l Adha.
She was born in Zamboanga City to lawyer Jose Miguel Valderrosa and Paz Gonzales Esquivel, a pharmacist. Her grandfather Nicasio Siason Valderrosa was the Chartered Mayor of Zamboanga City from 1936 to 1939, who was later appointed second Filipino Mayor
of Baguio City until 1944 before finally becoming Chartered Mayor of Basilan until 1953. Valderrosa-Abubakar is married to former Jolo, Sulu Mayor Rashdi Ngo Abubakar.
They have one daughter, Fariza, also known as Kaimee, a registered nurse. (DOT)
