MANILA, Philippines - After promoting associate justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno as Supreme Court chief justice in August 2012, President Aquino has appointed an outsider for the Court of Tax Appeals after Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta retired.
“We are pleased to announce that the President has appointed Roman del Rosario as presiding justice, Court of Tax Appeals vice Ernesto Acosta,†Secretary Edwin Lacierda, spokesman for Aquino, wrote in an email to Palace reporters.
Malacañang also disclosed that the President has designated Rowena Guanzon as “ad interim commissioner†of the independent Commission on Audit. She will have a seven-year term that will end in February 2020. Guanzon replaces Juanito Espino Jr., according to Lacierda.
Aquino has also appointed Napoleon Imperial as deputy executive director IV of the Commission on Higher Education, while Maria Teresita Semana was named director III of the same government agency.
Aquino led the mass oath-taking yesterday of newly appointed government officials and officers of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) in simple ceremonies held at Malacañang Palace.
Officials who took their oath before the President include: Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Philippines to the People’s Republic of China; Undersecretaries Mario Deriquito of the Department of Education (DepEd), Angelita Gregorio-Medel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Jose Grageda of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales of Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Amelia Guevarra of Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Tomasito Villarin of the Office of Political Affairs, Office of the President.
Also inducted were assistant secretaries Ardeliza Medenilla of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Lorna Dino of DepEd, Daniel Ariaso Sr. of the Department of Energy, Jess Anthony Yu of the Presidential Communications Operations Office; Assistant Secretary Janice Santos of the office of Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Eugenio Villareal, Presidential Commission on Good Government commissioner Vicente Gengos, Jr., National Dairy Authority administrator Grace Cenas.
Panel chair for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Parole and Probation Administration deputy administrator Arturo Gabrieles and Intellectual Property Office Deputy Director-General Allan Gepty also took their oaths.
As for the 2013 KBP board of trustees, among those who took their oaths were KBP chairman Ruperto Nicdao Jr. of Manila Broadcasting Co.; vice chairman Butch Canoy of Radio Mindanao Network; president Herman Basbao of Bombo Radyo Philippines; EVP Rosario Bartolome of ABS-CBN; VP for radio Francisco Cardona of Radio Corp. of the Philippines; corporate secretary Joselito Yabut of Primax Broadcasting Network; treasurer Fr. Manuel Bongayan of Radio Veritas Global Broadcasting System; KBP directors Erwin Galang of GV Broadcasting System/Mediascape; Jose Locsin Jr. of the Philippine Broadcast Network, Albert Sikat of the Tamaraw Broadcasting Corp.
Aquino also swore in Wilhelm Soriano, legal counsel of the Progressive Broadcasting Corp., who was elected deputy chair.
The KBP standards authority directors who took their oath before Aquino include Jose Alberto Ante of the Transradio Broadcasting Corp., Nicolas Bondoc of ABC-5, Ric Climaco of the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp., Manolito Cruz of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp., Noel Galvez of the Vanguard Radio Network Co., Rev. Ephraim Guerrero of the Intermedia Philippines, Orly Pangcog of the People’s Broadcasting Service and George Salabao of the St. Jude Thaddeus Institute of Technology.