MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Undersecretary Isidro Purisima as acting head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Purisima's latest designation was announced by Malacañang Press Briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez in a Palace briefing.
Malacañang has yet to release additional details about Purisima's appointment.
Purisima's appointment came more than a month after Marcos named then OPAPRU Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. as the new head of the Department of National Defense.
Prior to his new stint, Purisima served as Presidential Assistant for Local Conflict Transformation and Peace Sustainability.
Purisima also worked as deputy presidential adviser for operations of the now-defunct Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP).
As a former military officer, Purisima served as deputy chief of staff for operations and head of the command center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Apart from Purisima, Marcos also promoted OPAPP chief of staff Wilben Mayor as the office's Presidential Assistant 1, Oseña-Paez said.
Oseña-Paez, however, did not elaborate on Mayor's new position.
The OPAPRU, formerly known as OPAPP, is mandated to manage, direct, integrate and supervise the implementation of the comprehensive peace process by promoting and reinforcing reconciliation and unity among the Filipino people.
Other newly appointed officials
Oseña-Paez also bared the names of other new presidential appointees.
Marcos, she said, designated Gabriel Lagamayo as acting administrator of the National Dairy Authority (NDA) and member of the Dairy Industry Board.
The NDA, created by virtue of Republic Act 7784, is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture that is in charge of ensuring the accelerated development of the Philippine dairy industry through policy direction and program coordination and implementation.
Oseña-Paez, likewise, announced the appointment of Senando Santiago as acting general manager and chief executive officer of Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), an attached agency of the Department of Environment Natural Resources tasked to promote and accelerate the growth of the Laguna Lake area and the surrounding provinces, cities and towns.
Santiago, she said, will also serve as member of the LLDA's Board of Directors.
Marcos also appointed David Ero and Virgina Oroco as acting members of the Board of Directors of the Landbank of the Philippines, both representing the agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Emerico de Guzman and Rufino Margate Jr. were also tapped as members of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace council, both representing the employer sector, Oseña-Paez said.
Other newly appointed government officials were Valerie Joy Brion (executive director V at the Commission on Filipinos Overseas), Domingo Gonzaga (director II at the National Meat Inspection Service), Julieta Opulencia (deputy executive director III at the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries) and Flora Gabunales (director IV at the Department of Trade and Industry). (PNA)
