PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has appointed Carlito Galvez Jr. as head of the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPARU), a post he held under the Duterte administration.
Galvez, who was officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense until Marcos appointed Gilberto Teodoro as defense secretary earlier this month, replaced Isidro Purisima, who was OPARU office-in-charge and is back as OPARU senior undersecretary.
Another appointee announced by Malacañang was lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon, a senatorial candidate in the 2022 elections under Marcos’ UniTeam, as presidential adviser for poverty alleviation.
Other appointees are Nolasco A. Mempin and Noel T. Baluyan as undersecretary and assistant secretary of the Department of Education. The names of Mempin and Baluyan are already included in the DepEd website as undersecretary designate and assistant secretary designate, respectively.
It was not clear if Mempin and Baluyan are the same as retired Army Maj. Gen. Nolasco A. Mempin, who served as commander of the Task Force Davao and of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in Davao City, and Brig. Gen. Noel T. Baluyan who served as acting commander of the 3rd Infantry Division based in Capiz and of the 302nd Brigade based in Negros Oriental. Verification sought from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and DepEd has yet to be answered.
The list of new appointments was released by Malacañang yesterday through a Facebook post Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
Other appointments released by the PCO:
* Lawyer Vener Baquiran, as deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Bureau of Customs and is a former Manila International Container Port district collector.
* Dan Baliao, reappointed to his post of chief of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) – Aquaculture Department.
* Aileen S. Manalo, acting chairwoman and member of the Board of Trustees of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Production Unit.
* Arlene A. Romasanta, Director IV of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
* Cleo D. Bado-Andrada and Felix C. Taguba, directors III, DENR.
* Liberito V. Espiritu, chairman, Philippine Domestic Construction Board (PDCB) and Francis Gerard Cañedo, Ronaldo Elepaño Jr., Noel Flores and Dino Mae Suelto as members of the PDCB board.
* Federico Marquez Jr. and Michael Democrito Mendoza as members of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council representing the employer’s sector and labor sector.
* Pia Charmane O. de Jesus, deputy executive director IV of the National Wage and Productivity Board, and Warren Gregorio A. Manilay as member of the Regional Wages and Productivity Board for Region XII representing the employers’ sector.
* Aurelio C. Angeles Jr. and Armando P. Rubia as members of the board of directors of the Authority of the Freeport of Bataan representing the province of Bataan and town of Mariveles, respectively; along with Michael Dennis M. Ballesteros and Conrado G. Marty who both represent the national government.
* Pablo M. Gancayco and Benjamin M. Tancio as acting members of the board of directors of the Authority of the Freeport of Bataan representing the foreign investors and domestic investors, respectively.
PCO, in a release, said Gadon’s appointment “reflects the government’s commitment to address one of the most pressing challenges faced by our nation.”
“He will play a pivotal role in advising the President on strategies and policies aimed at combating poverty and improving the lives of the most vulnerable sectors of society. He will work closely with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to design and implement comprehensive programs to address the root causes of poverty,” PCO said.
