TINA Canda, a former undersecretary and officer in charge (OIC) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and a Thomasian, died on Aug. 23 after a battle with cancer. She was 61.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman announced Canda’s death in a Facebook post, where she called the late undersecretary “one of [the] agency’s towers of strength.”
“Undersecretary Tina was a gentle soul with a strong, dependable character,” Pangandaman said. “She was the ultimate mentor and coach of her colleagues who became better public servants, not just through words and concepts but because of her example.”
Pangandaman said Canda was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer but still “reported for work every day with her usual dogged determination.”
Canda graduated cum laude from the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters in 1982 with a degree in economics.
She began her career in the DBM as a budget analyst and then rose through the ranks, assuming the positions of assistant division chief, division chief, director, assistant secretary, and undersecretary.
In 2021, Canda was appointed OIC of the department after the resignation of budget secretary Wendel Avisado.
As OIC, she steered the budget department through the Covid-19 transition period until the final year of the Duterte administration.
Canda retired in January after serving the DBM for 40 years.
“An epitome of excellent public service, Undersecretary Tina will forever be in the hearts of every DBM employee in continuing the sound, effective, and efficient management and utilization of government resources,” the DBM said in a Facebook post. Mabel Anne B. Cardinez
