Sto. Tomas is labor secretary

Former Civil Service Commissioner Patricia Sto. Tomas is the new labor secretary of the Arroyo admi-nistration.

President Arroyo formally appointed Sto. Tomas yesterday, replacing Bienvenido Laguesma.

Sto. Tomas headed a screening committee that made recommendations to the President about possible Cabinet appointees.

Mrs. Arroyo also appointed yesterday Rene Bañez as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Bañez was a deputy BIR commissioner during the Ramos administration.

Appointed permanently as chairman and president of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. was Ephraim Genuino.

Earlier, Genuino was named only as Pagcor chairman and general manager.

Presidential chief-of-staff Renato Corona said the President has not named the replacement of retired Gen. Lisandro Abadia, whose designation as chief of the National Security Council was withdrawn amid a raging controversy.

Corona himself has graciously declined his appointment as solicitor general, saying he remains as chief-of-staff. He said he will soon drop his other hat as presidential spokesman.

Corona said Mrs. Arroyo has opted to appoint a lawyer and "somebody who is knowledgeable about finance and economics" for spokesman.

He declined to name the appointee but hinted the would-be spokesman is "a young lawyer and economist who studied in a top university in the US."

The Arroyo administration has yet to announce the secretaries for the departments of agriculture, agrarian reform, health, environment, and foreign affairs, the last of which will concurrently serve as vice president. –Liberty Dones