TWO years into the presidential term, President Bongbong Marcos has been making new additions to the Cabinet, who are generally considered as qualified and acceptable, if not exemplary.
Three of these appointments, which were occasioned by the resignations of officials originally holding the posts, were those of the secretaries of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education, and the director general of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Secretary-designate Cris Roque has been an insider at the DTI for a couple of years, as an undersecretary in charge of small, medium, and micro enterprises, before she was given the opportunity to head the department upon the resignation of Secretary Alfredo Pascual.
As a DTI official, Roque was known for advocating consumer rights and championing the cause of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). This is expected of her because when she was with the private sector, she started the medium-size clothing line Kamiseta and its cosmetics products.
‘The nation looks up to these new leaders in the Executive department to deliver their best brand of public service, honesty, and dedication.’
Upon her designation as DTI acting secretary, Roque was directed by the President to take care of and promote the SMMEs, which luckily is her line of expertise.
The next appointment that elicited strong approval across many sectors was that of Sen. Sonny Angara as education secretary. As senator and chairman of the Senate committee on finance, Angara backed bills that benefit the education sector.
The DepEd itself welcomed Angara as a worthy successor to Vice President Sara Duterte especially because he promised to listen to all education stakeholders and immediately institute reforms needed in our educational system, with emphasis on basic education.
Finally, PBBM has just named Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez of the third district of Negros Occidental as TESDA chief. Like Angara, Benitez has taken up education as an advocacy in Congress. He is a former president of the Philippine Women’s University and commissioner of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EdCom2).
Benitez was appointed by President Marcos as TESDA director general following the resignation of Suharto Mangudadatu who quit to run for a position in the coming elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Benitez’ appointment was lauded by the Makati Business Club, citing his important role as their partner in advancing sustainability initiatives through the Circular Economy Act and other legislation. The club said it is confident that the young congressman, as new chief of TESDA, would be able to use his expertise in propelling forward the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development (AMDev) Program, a key MBC initiative supported by USAID and the Unilab Foundation.
The people have high expectations of Benitez because he is known in the House of Representatives as supporting legislation with new development paradigms that balance social equity, economic growth, and ecological sustainability.
Marcos cited in his recent State of the Nation Address that advanced learning systems and technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT) will be offered in all technical education and training centers in the regions. It is now on Benitez’ shoulders to flesh out this promise.
The nation looks up to these new leaders in the Executive department to deliver their best brand of public service, honesty, and dedication.
