Interesting appointments

There is something amusing in the latest batch of appointments of President Aquino. Like the high-paying positions on the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines. Gloria Arroyo defender and Philippine Star columnist Alex Magno is out. Ronald Llamas of Akbayan is in. I don’t know if Llamas specifically asked for DBP because of Magno but the mere mention of the two remind me of their classic encounter years ago. Magno greeted Llamas: “Hello, the last of the socialists.” Llamas replied: “Hello, the first of the opportunists.” I would like very much to witness an updated repartee between the two. Aside from Llamas, the new DBP board is composed of Jose A. Nuñez Jr. as chairman vice Patricia Sto. Tomas; Francisco D. del Rosario Jr as president and chief executive officer vice Mike Arroyo's best friend Reynaldo David; members Jose Luis L. Vera ; Jose Antonio U. Periquet; Daniel Y. Laoagan; Juan Kevin G.Belmonte and Cecilio B. Lorenzo. Another significant appointment is that of former Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani as member of the board of the Manila Economic and Cultural office, the country’s de-facto embassy in Taiwan. It’s one of the most coveted positions because it pays handsomely. Although the President appoints the officials of MECO, it is not considered a government office because of the country’s One –China policy. The Ramos family has deep connections to Taiwan. Shahani’s father, former Foreign Minister Narciso Ramos, served as ambassador to Taipei before the Philippines adopted the One-China policy. But what caught my naughty eye about Shahani’s appointment to MECO is that Rosemary “Baby” Arenas is MECO member of the board courtesy of Gloria Arroyo. I understand she is still on the board as a “hold-over.” Of course students of presidential liaisons know who Arenas is. Another Aquino appointee to the Meco board is lawyer Bienvenido Benitez. Filipino-Chinese anti-crime activist Teresita Ang See was also appointed to the board but I learned that she declined it because of her other commitments. But Ang See was named a member of the committee that is investigating the Aug. 23 hostage debacle that resulted in the deaths of eight of the 21 Hong Kong hostages. Aquino has appointed former Supreme Court Justice Flerida Ruth Romero and former Comelec Commissioner Mehol Sadain to the much awaited Truth Commission, in addition to its chair, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide. The appointment of Sadain gives us hope that the Truth Commission will take up the cheating in the 2005 elections because he was at the Comelec at the time. He should know what really happened. After having been bypassed for the positions of Education Secretary, Tourism Secretary and Solicitor General, lawyer Andres Bautista, who has resigned as vice president of the Shangrila Hotels and Resorts, is the chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government. He replaces Camilo Sabio. Bautista, brother of doctor Martin Bautista , who was in the Liberal Party senatorial ticket last election, was dean of the Far Eastern University College of Law. It is expected that with Bautista at the helm of PCGG, the credibility of the agency tasked to recover Marcos ill-gotten wealth, will be restored. Former trade and Industry Secretary Juan B. Santos, who was initially offered the position of foreign affairs secretary but lost it due to the intensive lobbying by Alberto Romulo, has been appointed chairman of the Social Security Commission vice retired General Thelmo Cunanan. Santos was former chief executive officer of Nestle Philippines. E-mail:ellentordesillas@gmail.com