Makati Business Club (MBC) Director Alberto Lim joins Wednesday President Aquino’s new government as Secretary of the Department of Tourism (DoT).

“I am very honored to be invited to join his (Aquino’s) Cabinet. In spite of the daunting challenges, I agreed to serve because of what Presidentelect Aquino stands for,” Lim said.

The business leader said that while he has always considered the late former President Corazon “Cory” C. Aquino and the martyred Senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr. as heroes of democracy, it was only last year that he was acquainted with their son, Noynoy.

“I only became acquainted with the President-elect during the campaign when I was invited to join the policy committee to help craft a platform of government,” he said, recalling that it was Noynoy’s eldest sister Balsy (Maria Elena Aquino-Cruz) whom he first met.

Lim said the Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer at that time made such an impression on him that he wished to help Noynoy’s cause against corruption.

“The DoT is not a frontline agency in the fight against corruption. It has a very small budget. Nevertheless, we will observe all good governance practices and make all transactions transparent. Anyone who intends to milk the agency will not find his efforts worthwhile,” Lim said.

His experience with tourism stems from to his part-time involvement in the past with several boards involved in tourism. He co-founded the Freedom to Fly Coalition, which advocated an open-skies policy as a strategy to promote economic development.

Moreover, he also became a member of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

“The position offered (DoT Secretary) presents a unique opportunity to develop tourism as a major engine for growth, providing jobs in the countryside, and helping reduce poverty,” Lim said.

He said he has already resigned as MBC president but plans to tap the influential business group for nation-building.

“I will invite MBC to be active together with other business groups and non-government organizations in making government much more accountable to the Filipino people than it has been in the current administration,” Lim said.

It was also Lim who founded the Palawan Tourism Council, which is responsible for Palawan’s rise as a veritable tourist destination.

He also founded the El Nido Foundation, which was responsible for the El Nido Protected Area Management Board that helps people in communities improve their way of living.

He also spearheaded the Corporate Network for Disaster Response after Indonesia’s 7.2 earthquake in 1990 sent tsunamis to surrounding islands.