Marcos Jr. administration

CHED chief De Vera, 3 other gov’t officials keep posts under Marcos

Loreben Tuquero

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CHED chief De Vera, 3 other gov’t officials keep posts under Marcos

CHED CHIEF. This file photo shows Commission on Higher Education's Prospero de Vera III.

Rappler

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles also announces the appointment of Popo Lotilla as energy secretary

MANILA, Philippines – Prospero de Vera III is keeping his post as chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him to the same role. 

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced the appointments of De Vera and 11 others in a statement on Saturday, July 23.

De Vera was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in October 2018. Before that, he was CHED officer-in-charge for nearly nine months. 

He was designated as CHED commissioner in September 2016. 

During his term under the Duterte administration, he had been criticized for his views on “flexible learning,” which was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Among other controversies, he also traded barbs with the University of the Philippines over the removal of allegedly subversive materials from state university libraries.

Aside from De Vera, three other appointees announced on Saturday are retaining their posts.

Rosalia Villegas de Leon retains her post as national treasurer, Philippe Jones Lhuillier retains his post as ambassador to Spain, while Monica Prieto Teodoro keeps her post as special envoy of the President to the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF.

Angeles also announced that Raphael “Popo” Lotilla had been appointed secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) following a review of his eligibility for the post. 

Lotilla is an independent director of Aboitiz Power and ENEXOR. According to the DOE charter, “no officer, external auditor, accountant, or legal counsel of any private company or enterprise primarily engaged in energy industry shall be eligible for appointment as secretary within two years from retirement, resignation, or separation.”

But the Department of Justice backed Lotilla’s nomination, saying an “independent director” is a novel concept not contemplated by the DOE charter. It deemed that an independent director is sui generis – or class of its own – in character.

Meanwhile, Benny Antiporda has been chosen as acting administrator of the National Irrigation Administration. He will also be a member of its Board of Directors. Antiporda previously served as undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Below are the other appointments announced on Saturday:

  • Franz Josef George Espina Alvarez – acting president, chief executive officer, and member, Board of Directors of the PNOC Exploration Corporation
  • Pedro Ramirez Laylo – ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the State of Israel
  • Emmanuel Buenaflor Salamat – executive director, National Secretariat of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict
  • Epimaco Verano Densing III – undersecretary, Department of Education
  • Ferdinand Galvez Sevilla – president, Philippine Public Safety College, Department of the Interior and Local Government
  • Alex Quiroz – chairman, Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations

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  1. CE

    Dear Rappler: I am the president and chairman of the board of a college here in Caloocan, and I want to seek help from you being a member of your organization. The CHED has a phaseout and revocation orders of my five programs namely: BS Accountancy, BS Information Technology, BSE majors in English, Filipino and Social Studies, aside from denying all newly applied programs. Their reason is that the school was not compliant in SY2021-2022. The law says that the power of the CHED when it comes to phasing out, revocation or termination is recommendatory. Despite submission of all requirements, appeal for reconsideration, etc., the CHED keeps on asking us to cease and desists from operation of the said programs. Please help us. Can you at least at least interview me for a fair presentation of this case.

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Loreben Tuquero

Loreben Tuquero is a researcher-writer for Rappler. Before transferring to Rappler's Research team, she covered transportation, Quezon City, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government as a reporter. She graduated with a communication degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.