New CICT head named

President Arroyo has appointed a new chairman for the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).

During her visit to the Accenture Cebu Facility, the President announced her appointment of Ray Anthony Roxas Chua to the CICT as replacement for Ramon Sales who resigned at the end of June.

The President noted that Roxas Chua is the grandson of the late sugar and rice trading tycoon Antonio Roxas Chua.

Not much information was provided about the new appointee except that he graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton business school in the United States in the field of computer science and finance.

The President said that she already signed the appointment papers of Roxas Chua but has not yet transmitted these to the CICT.

Sales resigned from the CICT last June for health reasons.

The President also announced the promotion of assistant ombudsman Pelagio Apostol to new deputy ombudsman for the Visayas.

Prior to his promotion, Apostol was head of the Preliminary Investigation, Administrative Adjudication and Monitoring Office (PAMO) under the Office of the Ombudsman.

Apostol is best known for handling the high profile case of former justice secretary Hernando Perez during his stint as PAMO head, which resulted in the filing of charges of graft, extortion and falsification of public documents before the Sandiganbayan.

Mrs. Arroyo said that Apostol was the most senior and most nominated among the candidates and the one whom no one lobbied for.