Palace announces new appointments

MANILA — Malacanang on Friday announced new appointments in three government agencies.

In a briefing Friday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President has appointed lawyer Ronald C. Chua as Commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG).

Both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs have new undersecretaries namely Ardeliza R. Medenilla and Jose Jaime P. Payumo.

Valte said appointments of Chua and Medenilla were signed on March 3, 2015 while Payomo’s appointment was signed last March 6.

Relatively, the Palace announced Thursday that it has submitted the nomination of Acting Health Secretary Jenette L. Garin as head of the Department of Health (DOH).

Asked on whether Malacanang is confident that Garin will easily pass the confirmation process, Valte said they are hopeful.

”If there are any issues, we are certain that Secretary Garin will be able to address the ones that are asked of her during her hearings,” she said.

Asked on the capacity of Garin to head the DOH, Valte said the former has proven her worth in addressing issues that have cropped up in recent months

”Since she was appointed as Acting Secretary—I think that was in November—that she has been confronted with several issues and that, so far, the outcomes have been satisfactory, of course… So far, she has performed her work,” she added.

Among the major health concerns the country faced in recent months are the entry of travelers, Filipino and foreigners alike, who have have symptoms or are positive for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and of Ebola.

Last February alone, the DOH implemented preventive measures against MERS-CoV after a Filipino nurse who came from Saudi Arabia was confirmed to be positive of the virus.