President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed new heads of the Commission on Elections, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Marcos chose his former election lawyer, George Garcia, as Comelec chairman.
Garcia will replace Saidamen Pangarungan and will serve as head of the poll body until Feb. 2, 2029.
Pangarungan, Garcia, and Aimee Torrefranca-Neri were earlier appointed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte. Their ad interim appointments, however, were bypassed by the powerful Commission on Appointments.
“Under my watch, the Comelec will aim for meaningful reforms that will resolve issues identified by stakeholders and the voting public. These will include structural reforms that will strengthen good governance founded on accountability, transparency, and integrity,” Garcia said in a statement.
“Rest assured that I will remain impartial and independent as a Comelec chairman. The will of the people will be the supreme law,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marcos also named the top brass of the military and police, with Southern Luzon Command chief and Medal of Valor awardee Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro leading the AFP and Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. leading the PNP.
He also appointed Medardo de Lemos as NBI director.
Bacarro will be the first AFP chief of staff to serve a fixed term of three years after Duterte signed into law in May a measure granting a fixed term for top military posts and changing their age of mandatory retirement.
Bacarro, who is part of the Philippine Military Academy “Maringal” Class of 1988, also held various positions in the 5th Infantry Division and served as Army and eventually AFP spokesperson.
Outgoing AFP chief of staff Gen. Andres Centino, a classmate of Bacarro in the PMA, will be given a new post “befitting a former chief of staff,” according to the Palace.
Azurin, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao” Class of 1989, succeeds PNP officer-in-charge Vicente Danao.
He is presently the chief of the Northern Luzon Police area and has served as head of the Directorate for Comptrollership as well as the Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management of the PNP.
De Lemos, for his part, is the NBI’s most senior officer, having been with the bureau for 37 years.
“Director De Lemos rose from the ranks and his appointment as NBI Director is a strong indication of President Marcos’ commitment to strengthening the system of meritocracy in the promotion, placement, and hiring of government personnel,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a statement.
Senator Francis Escudero on Monday called on President Marcos to appoint with urgency a “high caliber Cabinet member” as head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO).
The appointee, he said, will serve as an effective point person between Malacanang and Congress in pursuit of the President’s legislative agenda.
The senator said this will prevent a repeat of what he called a “bill vetoing-spree” of Malacañang after Marcos vetoed five measures approved by the previous Congress, including the tax exemption of the honoraria for teachers doing poll duties. With Macon Ramos-Araneta