PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has made several new appointments in the government, including undersecretaries at the Office of the President (OP) and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and assistant secretaries at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Office of the Senior Deputy Executive Secretary (OSDES), the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) revealed yesterday.
The PCO, in a Facebook post, said Emmanuel Pineda, the former administrator of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, was named undersecretary of the DHSUD while Abraham Purugganan was appointed as OP undersecretary.
Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil has yet to say whether Purugganan is the former scout ranger and co-founder of the Young Officers Union that was involved in coup plots during the term of President Corazon Aquino.
The PCO said other appointees include DENR Technical adviser Noraleen Uy, who was designated as the new assistant secretary of the department, while lawyers Krisjan Gargantiel and Jason Alba were appointed to the OSDES.
Also appointed was Rowena Macalintal as assistant secretary to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The PCO said the President also designated business tycoons George Barcelon and Jose Maria Concepcion III as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Advisory Council; Sherwin Bugarin as a member of the Games and Amusement Board; Ma. Flordeliza Cusi-Leong as member of the board of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and Julius Neri Jr. as acting general manager and chief executive officer and member of the board of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
