Defensor is new PNR chairman

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has named Michael "Mike" T. Defensor as acting chairman of the Philippine National Railways (PNR). The appointment was announced by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita in a press conference Wednesday in Malacañang. "Mike is a man of many talents. You will notice that he was given responsibility by the President because he has the capacity. I know for sure because he was my colleague in Congress," he said. PNR’s Web site showed that its current chairman is Manuel D. Andal. Mr. Defensor’s appointment will take effect immediately. Mr. Defensor was one of the losing senatorial bets of the administration coalition Team Unity in the 2007 midterm elections. Other members of the Team Unity senatorial ticket were then Bukidnon Rep. Jose Miguel F. Zubiri, then reelectionists Edgardo J. Angara, Ralph G. Recto and Joker P. Arroyo, former senator Teresa "Tessie" Aquino-Oreta then Zambales governor Vicente Magsaysay, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson; actor Cesar Montano and Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, former Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero A. Pichay, Jr. and former senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. Among these candidates, only three — Messrs. Angara, Arroyo, Zubiri — won. Posts for Team Unity So far, five Team Unity members have been given official posts in the government. The other four are Mr. Pichay, chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration; Mr. Sotto, chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board; Mr. Recto, National Economic and Development Authority director-general; and Mr. Singson, deputy national security adviser. Mr. Defensor was a Quezon City congressman, an Environment secretary and presidential chief-of-staff. Prior to his appointment to PNR, he was named head of a task force mandated to ensure the smooth opening of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. The task force ended its existence after the terminal started serving international flights in August. In the same briefing, Mr. Ermita announced the appointment of Cotabato Archbishop Orlando V. Quevedo as head of the Presidential Task Force for the Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development; Jose D. Mamaril as fire chief superintendent of the Bureau of Fire Protection; and Sancho S. Buquing as regional director of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. — Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld