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An official from Malacañang on Thursday revealed
President Gloria Arroyo has formally signed the appointment papers
of Manny Angeles to be the new chairman of the Commission on Higher
Education.
In a statement, Deputy
presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the appointment
papers of the former Angeles University Foundation Chancellor were
signed on August 20.
Angeles will be taking over from
acting chairperson Nona Ricafort, who was unavailable for comment.
Officials of the higher education
commission and various educators groups welcomed Malacañang’s
decision to appoint Angeles.
“He is very much welcome with
us. We are ready to work with him. We know he has the capability to
handle the challenges facing tertiary education in the country,”
said Commission Executive Director William Medrano.
“We haven’t yet received the
official papers but whoever is our chairman, we will just continue
our job,” Medrano added.
Deputy Executive Director Lawyer
Julito Vitriolo said Angeles would bring to the higher education
commission a treasure of experience as an educator and highly
effective manager.
“It’s a welcome development
since he is considered as an institution in the academe. We believe
he could revitalize the tertiary sector considering his knowledge
and experience in the academe and his being a good manager,” he
added.
Angeles would directly oversee
the development of tertiary education in 111 state colleges and
universities and 64 local colleges operated by local government
units nationwide.
Likewise, Angeles would exert
supervisory powers over private educational institutions in the
country.
Earlier reports said that
Angeles, a former president and chief executive of the Clark
Development Corp., was President Arroyo’s first choice to replace
former
Romulo Neri, who headed the
higher education commission in an acting capacity and was appointed
to head the Social Security System on July 9.
President Arroyo is reportedly
close to the Angeles family since her father, the late former
President Diosdado Macapagal, was Chairman of the Board of Angeles
University Foundation until he passed away in 1997.
Mrs. Arroyo succeeded him in the
board until she was elected vice president. Her brother, Bobby, took
her place.
Angeles is a lawyer by
profession, having obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Ateneo and
Harvard in 1960. He obtained his Master of Laws and Doctor of
Philosophy in Political Science at the University of Santo Tomas in
1968 and 1971, respectively.
--James Konstantin Galvez
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