Employees of the Maritime Industry Authority criticized the alleged illegal appointments of officers-in-charge (OICs) made by former MARINA administrator Robert Empedrad, saying they were non-compliant with the guidelines set by Malacañang.
Employees belonging to the Alliance of MARINA Employees (AME) said Memorandum Circular (MC) Order No. 1 issued by Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez on June 30 stated that vacancies in the heads of departments or agencies should be filled by OICs who are next-in-rank or the most senior official in the department or agency.
Empedrad did allegedly did not comply with the order when he appointed erstwhile OIC-deputy administrator for planning Sonia Malaluan as OIC-Administrator, former director for shipyard regulation service Ramon Hernandez as OIC-Deputy Administrator for Operations; former director for planning and policy service Arsenio Lingad as OIC-Deputy Administrator for Planning; and division chiefs Harold Tarun as OIC-Executive Director and and Ronnie Gernato as OIC-deputy executive director.