Article by:
Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
MANILA – Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Goddes Hope Libiran has resigned from her post, citing personal challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Libiran said she has tendered her resignation as the agency's Assistant Secretary for Communications and Commuter Affairs, on February 4 which will be effective by the end of this month.
“The last three months were quite daunting and difficult for me on a personal level, especially with tragic accidents and deaths of very close loved ones and relatives,” said Libiran.
In a span of one month, she said her whole family was infected with Covid-19 and her home was robbed.
“These things happening all in a month’s time were just way too much, even for someone as resilient and as resolute as I would like to be,” Libiran said.
She said she has no plans on joining any political campaigns and will instead focus on her family.
“For many years, I have been three persons— a mother, a wife, and a public servant. Now, I choose to just be one. After all, at the end of the day, family is what really matters. And for me, they are the most important,” Libiran said.
She thanked DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade who “relentlessly pursued every conceivable project, program, or initiative that would elevate, enhance, and transform our public transportation system.”
“To work with a visionary and a man with the grand plan entails a lot of sacrifices, both personal and career-wise. It is like working for miracles to happen, because he wants to make things happen, no matter what it takes,” Libiran said.
She also thanked other DOTr officials and President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for letting the DOTr and Tugade “flourish and extend all leeway” in pursuit of a more comfortable life for Filipinos.
“It is this simple but very tall order which made us at the DOTr do the improbable and achieve the impossible, and allowed our country to truly experience its golden age of infrastructure,” Libiran said.
Libiran joined the DOTr in late 2016 as communications officer.
She was named as the agency's director for communications in March 2017 and was promoted to Assistant Secretary in January 2019. (PNA)
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