New KWF commissioner, BFP chief named

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has named the new commissioner of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) for the Tagalog language and the new head of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Based on the list of appointments released by Malacañang released on Tuesday, Duterte on Jan.

8 appointed Arthur Casanova as full-time commissioner of KWF for Tagalog language but his appointment paper was released just on Jan. 15.

The KWF, created by virtue of Republic Act 7104 signed in August 1991, is mandated to formulate policies, plans, and programs to ensure the further development, enrichment, propagation and preservation of Filipino and other Philippine languages.

Replacing National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, Casanova will serve as a full-time commissioner for seven years or until 2027, the KWF said in a press statement.

Casanova is an author, educator, linguist, and theater director.

As a writer, Casanova authored more than 40 books. He also works in theater, both as an actor and director.

Casanova graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education in Filipino from the Mindanao State University in 1982.

He then earned his masters’ degree in Education with a specialization in Filipino Linguistics and doctorate in Linguistics and Literature from the Philippine Normal University in 1992 and 1999, respectively.

A photo from the KWF showed Casanova taking his oath before Court of Appeals officer-in-charge Presiding Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando.

Meantime, the list of new presidential appointees also showed that Duterte formally appointed Chief Supt. Jose Embang Jr. as the new BFP chief.

Embang was named as the officer-in-charge of the BFP after Fire Director Leonard Bañago reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 on Jan. 7.

Embang was a member of the Philippine National Police Academy “Tagapaglingkod” Class of 1987 and later on joined the Philippine Constabulary Integrated National Police before entering the Bureau of Fire Protection in its establishment as a separate agency in 1990.

Prior to his new appointment, Embang served as BFP deputy chief for operations.

Malacañang, on the list of newly-appointed government officials, also noted that Duterte signed on Jan. 20 the appointment papers of Nur Misuari as the President’s special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Gen.

Archie Francisco Gamboa as Philippine National Police chief.

In December last year, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) announced that Misuari was tapped as Duterte’s special envoy to the OIC, a 57-man inter-government organization that serves as the collective voice of the Muslim communities in the world.

The OPAPP also bared that Misuari is scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member-states in Burkina Faso in Western Africa from Jan. 21 to 23.

Gamboa, on the other hand, took oath and received his four-star rank before Duterte on Monday during the distribution of calamity assistance to families affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.