PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday announced the appointments of Rodolfo Salalima as secretary of the newly created Department of Information and Communications Technology, Angelito Banayo as chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, and Liza Masa as head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
“An information technology expert, an activist advocating the rights of the poor, and a long-time government servant are among the experts in their respective fields who have joined my Cabinet,” Duterte said.
Salalima was a former executive of Globe Telecom Inc. who served as the company’s chief legal counsel and senior vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs until his retirement in 2008.
Salalima graduated magna cum laude in AB Philosophy and cum laude in Bachelor of Laws from San Beda College. He has over 40 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, including stints in Bayan Telecommunications Inc. and Radio Communications of the Philippines Inc.
Banayo is a veteran in the government service, having served as postmaster general, Philippine Tourism Authority administrator, and National Food Authority administrator.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Philippine Postal Corp. and instituted reforms aimed at reducing employee pilferage. He initiated the probe into the corruption in the postal service and the one-way mirrors at the Manila International Airport Distribution Center.
He grew up in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte, where his family had moved in the 1960s. Later, he studied economics at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Manila, and then went on to the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and the University of the Philippines College of Public Administration.
He will now head Meco, the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, functioning as a de facto embassy in the absence of diplomatic relations.
Masa is the former Gabriela Party-list representative in the House of Representatives. She is a staunch advocate of the protection of the welfare of the poor and marginalized.
As a legislator, she authored 53 bills and 120 resolutions in the 13th and 14th Congresses. As co-author, her initiatives which were passed into law include the Rent Control Act of 2009, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, Magna Carta for Women, Philippine Nursing Act, Anti-Torture Law, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, and Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act.