Thursday, October 16, 2008 Evardone is new Arroyo’s local gov’t adviser
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo named Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone as her local government adviser.
Arroyo made the announcement during Wednesday’s oath-taking of the new officers of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap) led by its new president Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr.
The President acknowledged Evardone for recommending the crafting of a contingency plan to cushion the impact of a possible economic recession in the United States on ordinary Filipinos.
Evardone, who was a former reporter of Malaya, was the former secretary general and former spokesman of Ulap.
He was the media affairs officer of the Team Unity during the 2007 senatorial elections.
An alumnus of the University of East, he used to write for school paper The Dawn.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita also affirmed the appointment of former chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Antonio Apostol as legal consultant of the Social Security System (SSS).
Ermita said Apostol, being the chairman of the board of the Union Bank, makes him an “automatic” consultant of SSS.
SSS president Romulo Neri has signed the appointment of Apostol as their consultant.
Apostol served as one of the prosecution lawyers during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada. He was a three-term congressman of Leyte from 1992 to 2001.
He was first appointed by Arroyo in 2001 as chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation which he held until 2004.
He later moved to the United Coconut Planters Bank-General Insurance as chairman of the board from November 2005 to January 2007, before being named as chief presidential legal counsel in October 2006.
Apostol first entered politics in 1959 when he served as councilor of the town of Barugo in Leyte before becoming a Provincial Board member of the province from 1963 to 1967.
He then served as a district judge of Quezon City Court of First Instance Branch 16 from 1969 to 1975 and from 1977 to 1981, and later as executive judge district Quezon City Court of First Instance Branch 16 from 1975 to 1977.
He then became a member of the City Fiscal of the Ministry of Justice from 1981 to 1986, while at the same time serving as chief legal counsel of the Metro Manila Commission and consultant of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Ministry of Human Settlement. (JMR/Sunnex)
