PNoy names party-list group president as political adviser

(Updated 4:00 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday said he has chosen Akbayan President Ronald Llamas as his adviser on political affairs to "serve as a bridge to both the formal political parties and sectors." "Mr Llamas can devote full attention to this function enabling the others to concentrate on their core functions," President Aquino said in a text message. Aquino added that other Liberal Party (LP) members qualified for the post have their hands full with responsibilities. Llamas may not be a party-mate of Aquino but Akbayan was among the groups that supported him and the LP in the May 2010 elections. "He belongs to Akbayan which is a major coalition partner," the President said. In fact, Risa Hontiveros, one of the LP's senatorial candidates, is a member of Akbayan and used to represent the party-list group in the House of Representatives. Earlier in the day, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Aquino has yet to sign Llamas' appointment paper. “It’s just a matter of time," she told reporters at a briefing in Malacañang. Valte said Llamas' appointment came as the President sees the need to have a regular point person on political matters. "There is no singular political affairs adviser to the President and there is a need really to have somebody there on a regular basis who can advise the President and who can also represent the President in some matters concerning that specific area," she added. According to her, the appointment was also "for functionality and streamlining, and for accountability. It's better if there is one person, a point person for a particular issue." She noted that Llamas has extensive experience in political affairs. Llamas began his political career as a student activist at the University of Santo Tomas where he studied Journalism. While there, he headed the University Student Council and was a writer for various school publications. Llamas also organized labor unions, urban poor communities and peasant organizations and helped in setting up several non-governmental organizations, which focused on different sectors. He served as executive director of Center for Education and Research for Government Employees (Cerge) and Center for Popular Empowerment. He also became member of several NGOs like the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Institute of Politics and Governance (IPG), Center for Agraraian Reform and Transformation (CARET) and Partnership for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development Services, Inc. (PARRDS). In the political front, he was a founding member of the Bukluran sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa (BISIG), a socialist organization he founded together with former University of the Philippines President Francisco Nemenzo and UP Sociology Professor Randy David. Llamas is currently a member of the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines, a post he has to give up once he accepts the appointment as Aquino's political adviser. "[Llamas] Needs to step down from DBP," Aquino said. — LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV