A CEBU-BASED businessman has been appointed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the new head of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (Opav).

Terence Calatrava formally took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin at Malacañang on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.

Calatrava’s appointment came five months after businessman Michael Lloyd Dino ended his stint as the Opav chief.

Despite being appointed as the new Opav chief, Calatrava’s designation is undersecretary, a rank lower than secretary.

Dino held the position as a secretary, serving during the time of then President Rodrigo Duterte, from 2016 to 2022.

In a statement sent to SunStar Cebu, Calatrava will serve as head of Opav representing the President Marcos in Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas) and 8 (Eastern Visayas), and coordinate with the different government agencies to ensure the effective and prompt delivery of services among local government units and their constituents.

Calatrava, who hails from Cebu, is no stranger to public service as he had served the Tingog Party-list as its regional director.

Like his predecessor Dino, Calatrava will hold office in Cebu.

Calatrava is “committed to acting on the directives of the President, implementing the President’s projects and plans for the country, and assisting in bringing the Filipino people closer to the President,” read the statement from the new Opav head’s team. (JKV)