By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Amid the flurry of criticisms against the national government for the power outages affecting parts of the country in recent months, President Benigno Aquino III has appointed someone to handle the local government concerns in the energy department.
According to Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., former Paombong, Bulacan mayor Donato Marcos has been appointed as undersecretary of the Department of Energy (DOE).
President Aquino earlier assured that construction and rehabilitation of power plants and other efforts are underway to boost the nation’s energy reserves.
He gave the assurance as he rejected mounting calls for the resignation of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.
Aside from Marcos, a former president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, President Aquino also appointed six new government officials.
They included Ernesto Gaviola as assistant secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC); Reynaldo Faustino, acting director III in the Bureau of Research and Standards, Department of Public Works and Highways; Patrick Aquino, director IV of DOE; Arnold Joseph M. Co, acting director IV of the Department of Justice; and Norma Samantela, acting assistant schools division superintendent, Department of Education./PN
