Who Is Jeff Ortega?

Back in 2020, the name Jeff Ortega went viral on social media when, during a regional tourism event, he introduced Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as a former senator... and the Vice President of the Philippines.

Twitter exploded and Ortega, who was then the Ilocos director of the Department of Tourism, quickly got dumped on by users, with many calling for a public apology. The DOT, in turn, released a reminder to officials to "perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence and professionalism."Ortega responded by putting his Instagram profile on private, and deactivating his Twitter account. 

Here's everything you need to know about Department of Tourism-Ilocos director Jeff Ortega.

Who is Jeff Ortega?

Photo by ARTU NEPOMUCENO.

Born March 19, 1990, Ortega is the son of former La Union governor and city mayor Manuel "Manoling" Ortega. Currently, Ortega's brother Francisco Emmanuel "Pacoy" Ortega III is a former governor of La Union.

The Ortega clan's history in politics goes back several generations, beginning with Joaquin Ortega, who took his place as governor of La Union on August 15, 1901 until 1904. Yes, during American colonial rule. The Manila Times had even gone as far as calling the family the "longest-existing political dynasty in the country."

He's in a relationship with actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith.

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A post shared by Sheila Marie (@mamsheila10) on May 21, 2016 at 9:09am PDT>p

>pJeff Ortega and entertainment personality Jasmine Curtis Smith made their relationship public on February 23, 2016. In an interview with PEP.ph, Curtis-Smith said: "It's not naman I'm hiding it or whatever. It was just like, that's the part of me that I want to myself first before people will eventually find out.">pIn November 2019, rumors about a break-up between the couple came about. Curtis-Smith denied them, and added that they were happy. Curtis-Smith even wished Ortega a happy birthday in March 2020. She wrote:>pHappiest birthday to my man @jeffortega that can make any room light up brighter and to the one that my family constantly looks for! I love you heaaaaaaps my bb, my love, my #poffertjeff! You know the rest.>p

THe couple had even recently talked about marriage.

He was appointed as a DOT regional director in 2019.

On September 2, 2019, the then 29-year-old Ortega took his oath as the youngest official of the DOT. He was joined by his girlfriend actress Curtis-Smith who congratulated him in a series of Instagram story posts.

Photo by SCREENSHOT.

He also took to Instagram to mark the occasion, saying:

Finally assumed my post as the youngest Regional Director for Tourism in the Philippines today. Thank you to President Rodrigo Duterte for strengthening the youth and giving us an opportunity to serve the Filipino people as well as to the current Secretary of Tourism @bernsrp for trusting me with the tough but exciting new job! I still have a long way to go but i’m looking forward to gaining more experiences during my term with my new DOT family. To God be the Glory #SustainableTourism #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines #MoreFunForever.

In the same post, he was congratulated in the comments by friends including celebroties like Jolo Revilla, Sandro Marcos, KC Concepcion, Gretchen Ho, Gab Valenciano, Kean Cipriano, and even Curtis-Smith's mother Carmen.

He's an entrepreneur with multiple tourism businesses.

If you've been to La Union, chances are you've indulged in one of Ortega's businesses. His portfolio includes the La Union Surf School, the La Union franchises of Stoked Inc. and Ripcurl Philippines, as well as burger joint Mad Monkeys. Plus, he also ran the La Union Soul Surf Music Festival.

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She brought the sun with her and danced with the ocean. Her beautiful smile says it all ???? Happy to have you surf with us @jascurtissmith ?? ?? #learntosurf #launionsurfschool #philippines #jcstrips #beachhutfun>pA post shared by La Union Surf School (@launionsurfschool) on Jul 3, 2017 at 8:01pm PDT>p

>pIn a 2016 interview, Ortega talked about his start as a businessman. "My father always wanted me to take up law school and eventually run for politics," he says. "But surfing happened. I try my best to complement both things by consistently pushing surf tourism, because it creates jobs locally and helps strengthen small businesses.">pHe was slammed on Twitter after the video went viral.>h2See what users had to say in the tweets below.>p