President Duterte has appointed a new batch of government officials.
Among them were former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. acting president Roy Ferrer as Health Assistant Secretary and Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo as new Director General of the Food and Drug Administration.
The appointment papers of Ferrer and Domingo were signed by the President last Feb. 6 and released by the Palace yesterday.
The President asked Ferrer, along with other PhilHealth board members, to resign in June 2019 following the alleged fraudulent claims for kidney treatments. Duterte remained confident about the integrity of Ferrer despite the controversy.
Domingo, on the other hand, served as officer-in-charge of the FDA following the dismissal of FDA head Nela Charade Puno last year.
The appointment of Puno was terminated after the President reportedly received complaints about alleged wrongdoing in the agency. Duterte, back in May 2019, said he did not know the agency was considered a “gold mine” for the corrupt.
Also among the presidential appointees are retired Air Force chief Rozzano Briguez as member of the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. board, former IBC-13 president Katherine de Castro as member of the People’s Television Network Inc. board; Trade and Industry Undersecretary Rowel Barba, Director General of and Intellectual Property Office, and lawyer Lorna Kapunan as member of the Cultural Center of the Philippines board.
Two new ambassadors appointed by the President are Imelda Panolong, Philippine Ambassador to Oman, and Mohd. Noordin Pendosina Lomondot, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait.
The President also formalized the appointments of retired Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin as member of the Government Service Insurance System board; Giovanni Carlo Bacardo, flag officer-in-command of the Philippine Navy; and Joel Joseph Marciano, ad interim Director General of the Philippine Space Agency. (Genalyn Kabiling)