Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. is a graduate of B.S. Hotel and Restaurant Administration at the University of the Philippines where he was awarded Most Outstanding Alumnus in 2012. He took his Masters in Business Administration at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business as well as Masters in National Security Administration at the National Defense College of the Philippines where he was cited Most Outstanding Alumnis in 2003.

When he joined the Philippine Department of Tourism, he was initially involved in planning, product research and development, and investment promotions. Thereafter, he was posted in Tokyo as Tourism Attaché. Upon his recall to Head Office, he was asked to take the lead in the Marketing Teams for Japan, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Subsequently, he was appointed Assistant Secretary for International Tourism Promotion and succeedingly became Undersecretary for Tourism Development.

His experience in the Department of Tourism has strongly built in him an ardent dedication to inclusive and sustainable tourism development, being an integral part of the local and international campaign to promote the Philippines around the globe. As the Department’s spokesperson from 2010-2016 and until now, he continues to champion how tourism can become an avenue in empowering locals to create and improve products and services that will contribute to the beautification and preservation of their communities.

Among his other duties and responsibilities in the Department, he serves the Tourism Secretary as alternate in the Board of the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board and the Philippine Commission on Sports and scuba Diving and is likewise a member of the following organizations: the ASEAN National Tourism Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, World Tourism Organization, Pacific Asia Travel Association, World Travel and Tourism Council, Farm Tourism Development Board, National Ecotourism Development Council and the National Ecotourism Steering Committee.

As the head of Department of Tourism Central Visayas Regional Office, RD Tamano works with the LGUs and all regional offices of other national government agencies and stakeholders in the region to implement the policies & programs of the Department. Among his top priorities are ensuring the safety and security of our tourists by working closely with the law enforcement agencies, growing the tourist market for Central Visayas, diversifying the tourism products through ease of movement within provinces and in the region.

He also heads the Legislative Liaison Unit (LLU) of the Department of Tourism – Central Office in Makati City. This office initiates and maintains regular coordination between the two houses of the Philippine Congress for the enactment of policy reforms and development programs including the appropriations of fund for the Department’s projects and activities.

RD Tamano is a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary International. He was previously elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Makati which oversees policy and management of the Club and a representative to the Makati City Council for the Protection of Children. He also a member of the Rotary Club of Manila since 2017.

Commissioned in 2013, he is an Army Reserve Officer, with a rank of Major in the Philippine Army of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A member (blackbelt) of Philippine Judo Association, RD Tamano competed in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Hong Kong International Judo Tournaments. In 2014, he bagged a Bronze Medal in the 2014 Philippine National Games.

Dr. Christian Traweger, an Austrian citizen born on February 19, 1958, received his Master’s degree in Economics in 1985 and soon after, he received his Doctorate in Economics-Statistics in 1989.

He has been the Honorary Consul of the Philippines for the state of Tirol and Vorarlberg since 2005, the Chief Academic Advisor of IMAD Market Research since 1997, the Academic Director of International Study Programs in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines since 1989, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Innsbruck since 1988. He has also conducted guest lectures in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In the Philippines in particular, he did his lectures at UP-Diliman and USC, Cebu.