THE only non-Cebuano among a list of four nominees will head the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas anytime soon, as President Arroyo announced the appointment of Assistant Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol to the post.
“He is the most senior. Of the four nominated, nobody lobbied for him,” Arroyo told local reporters yesterday.
The President also announced the appointment of Rey Anthony Chua as head of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Commission.
As for the anti-graft office post, Arroyo said she already signed Apostol’s appointment some two weeks ago but it will still have to go through the rest of the government’s appointment procedures.
President Arroyo disclosed the appointments during a talk with reporters after the inauguration of the Cebu office of Accenture, a company that she said is giving “a tribute to the academic community in Cebu.”
The nominees for the position of Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas included Apostol, Ombudsman Director Virginia
Santiago, Graft Investigator Carla Narvios-Tanco and Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr.
Earlier, Santiago thanked those who independently wrote President Arroyo to endorse her appointment, including Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and the leaders of some non-government organizations.
Santiago previously applied for the position but lost to former Cebu City prosecutor Primo Miro, who vacated the position last January. He was on an extended sick leave months before that.
Yesterday, Santiago assured that Apostol will have her full support and cooperation, and that of the staff at the local anti-graft office.
She said she has been expecting Apostol’s appointment, having heard about it on the grapevine. Santiago added that she is happy because even if she did not get the post, it was not given to an outsider.
“Apostol was ahead of me, Apostol is higher in rank. Mao ra gyud na’y ako.
(That’s what matters to me.) He deserves it more and I salute the appointment,” Santiago said in an interview over radio dyLA. (JPM)
