Adviser for royalty? Meet the new execs

Have you heard of a presidential adviser for Muslim royalty concerns? Or an undersecretary for special concerns?

They are among the last batch of appointments made by President Arroyo before the election ban on appointments took effect last March 10.

The Palace bared the list of 32 new presidential appointees in sub-Cabinet positions but the dates of appointment were not indicated.

Among the more widely known personalities in the Palace list of new appointees is former presidential assistant Margarita "Tingting" Cojuangco, wife of former Tarlac Rep. Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr., who was designated as undersecretary for special concerns at the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Cojuangco took over the post vacated by Alipio Fernandez Jr., who was earlier appointed as head of the Bureau of Immigration by the President.

Cojuangcpo joined five other undersecretaries of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr.

Mrs. Arroyo also appointed Sultan Jamalul D. Kiram III as presidential adviser for Muslim Royalty Concerns while chief government negotiator with the communist groups, Silvestre Bello II, was named concurrent presidential adviser for Cagayan Valley.

Also in the list were controversial presidential assistant for foreign investments Danilo Roleda and retired police Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Berroya as assistant secretary for special concerns at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

In his daily press briefing at Malacañang yesterday, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye insisted that Mrs. Arroyo did not issue any "midnight" appointments before the start of the election ban.

"These appointments were issued before March 10," Bunye said, stressing that the appointments were also presidential prerogative.

"Of course, the President has taken into consideration the qualification of the appointees and their suitability for the positions," he pointed out.

In the case of Berroya, Bunye said he was not aware that the former police officer got his new appointment one day before he retired on his 56th birthday last March 11.

Bunye could not also say if Berroya’s DOTC position previously existed or if it is a new post created for him.

The other Arroyo appointees include former senator Victor Ziga as chairman of the board of the state-run Philippine National Construction Corp.-Skyway Corp., Veronica Fenix-Villavicencio as lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Teodoro Delarmente as immigration associate commissioner, Dennis Mercado as undersecretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Celia Yangco as undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Dolores Castillo as assistant secretary to the Department of Health (DOH), Alicia Bala as assistant secretary at the DSWD, Reynaldo Villar as ad interim commissioner of the Commission on Audit (COA), Cesar Buenaflor as ad interim commissioner of the Civil Service Commission, Carlitos Encarnacion as administrator of the National Tobacco Administration, Rosita Evangelista as president of the Philippine Public Safety College, and Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Paras as chief state counsel.

Actor Edu Manzano and known violinist John Lesaca were also appointed chairman and member, respectively, of the Optical Media Board, which replaced the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB).