Ex-Air Force chief appointed as Aviation director

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has appointed retired Air Force commanding general William Hotchkiss III as director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) replacing Ramon Gutierrez.

Hotchkiss’s appointment will cover the unexpired term of Gutierrez that is until June 30, 2012.

He was also appointed as member of the board of directors of Caap and has a term expiring on June 30, 2012 as well.

A Malacanang official refused to confirm whether Gutierrez was replaced or resigned.

President Aquino reportedly met with Gutierrez in Malacanang before the appointment of Hotchkiss was announced by deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte in a press briefing.

The Hotchkiss’s appointment came amid the safety standard issue in the Philippine aviation industry.

President Aquino earlier expressed disappointment in the safety measures in the country’s airports. He gave the airport authority deadline to remove the country out of the Category 2 status imposed by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

Hotchkiss, 69, served as commanding general of the PAF from 1996 to 1999. He also served during the administration of President Aquino's mother, late President Corazon Aquino.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aviation from the Philippine State College of Aeronautics. He formerly headed the Cantilan Bank Inc. and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Valte also announced the appointment of Wigberto Clavecilla Jr. as commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission.

Governors Casimiro Ynares III of Rizal and Miguel Dominguez of Sarangani were also appointed chairpersons of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) of Calabarzon and Soccsksargen regions, respectively, under the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Also appointed as directors to RPOC were Ariel Iglesia (Director III), Abraham Pascua, Nilo Castañares, and Julie Daquioag as Acting Director III; Armi Bactad, Darwin Vibar, Lionel Galope, Rey Maranan, Carl Caesar Rimando as officers of Local Government Operations for Eastern Visayas Region.

Aquino also appointed Victorino Manalo as executive director of the National Archives of the Philippines under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Manalo, who previously served as consultant of the United Nations Education Culture and Science Organization and director of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, will serve a term of five years.

Aquino appointed Ernesto Aradanas as executive vice president of the National Defense College of the Philippines for a term of six years.

Aradanas, a former commander of the 603 Brigade of the Philippine Army, holds a Master in National Security Administration from the NDCP.

President Aquino also appointed Rowena Cristina Guevara, former dean of the College of Engineering of the University of the Philippines, as acting executive director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development under the Department of Science and Technology.

Appointed as directors to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were Danilo Javier and Nonito Tamayo as acting Director III.

Appointments to the Commission on Higher Education include Caridad Abuan, Maximo Aljibe as Director IV; Lily Freyda Macabangon as Director III; Raul C. Alvarez as Acting Director IV; and Carmina Alonzo and Maria Teresita Semana as Acting Director III.

Under the Department of Agrarian Reform, appointed was Priscilla Ong as Acting Director III.

Appointed as Regional Agrarian Reform adjudicators were Victor Baguilat, Myrna del Socorro, Ibra Omar, Luis de los Santos Jr., Ivy Joy Magabo, Nanette Que, Erwin Ruiz, and Johnson Cinco.

Under the Department of Education, appointed as acting School Division Superintendents were Norma Maalindog, Mercelita Pormentilla, and Araceli Salmorin.

Under the Department of Trade and Industry, appointed as provincial directors were Brigida Pili Maria Belenda Ambi and Ireneo Bismonte.

Appointed as Acting Director II of the Bureau of Internal Revenue was Claro Ortiz.

Appointed to the Public Private Partnership Center of the Philippines as Director IV was Sherrie Ann Austria, replacing Alfredo Bitangcol III. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)