MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the appointments of three Department of Social Welfare and Development officials who have affiliations with left-leaning organizations.
Undersecretary for Protective Operations and Programs Group Mae Ancheta-Templa, Undersecretary for Promotive Operations and Programs Group Maria Lourdes Turalde-Jarabe and Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group Hope Hervilla have been removed from the agency.
Jarabe was previously a secretary-general for Gabriela Women’s Party, while Hervilla was a former official of the Bayan Muna party-list. Templa, on the other hand, has been in social development work through various groups and people’s organizations since 1981.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea clarified on Monday that their termination will give new DSWD secretary Rolando Bautista a free hand in assembling his staff and had nothing to do with their links to the left.
“The termination was made to give (Bautista) a free hand to assemble his own team,” Medialdea said. “We expect the new secretary to bring his own team to provide better services to the public.”
He added: “The termination of the three DSWD officials does not have to do with their left affiliation. It’s just for the formation of a good team.”
Undersecretary Luzviminda Ilagan for the Legislative Liaison Affairs and Special Presidential Directives in Mindanao Region was the only left-linked official left in the DSWD. She was a former Gabriela party-list representative.
The Social Welfare department has only three remaining undersecretaries after the latest terminations and the resignation of Manila City mayor candidate Isko Moreno as undersecretary for Luzon affairs and special concerns./PN
