Marcos names military intel chief
(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has designated Maj. Gen. Leonel Nicolas as the new head of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Malacañang announced on Friday.
Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the President on February 1 signed the appointment papers of Nicolas, who was recently promoted to two-star rank.
Before his new post, Nicolas served as the AFP’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence.
He was also the commander of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade and the Joint Task Force Zamboanga.
Nicolas became chief of staff and assistant chief of staff for operations, and commanded the 10th and 5th Infantry Battalions of the 1st Infantry Division.
He is an Airborne and Scout Ranger and a well-rounded military officer with expertise in operations, intelligence and managerial acumen.
Nicolas earned his Master of Management from the Liceo de Cagayan University and his Master of Public Management major in Development Security from the Development Academy of the Philippines.
Garafil said Marcos also appointed National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Officer in Charge Deputy Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez as the agency’s new commissioner.
She also said the appointment papers of Lopez, a lawyer, were signed by the President on February 7.
Before serving as NTC commissioner, Lopez worked as the director of the commission, officer in charge of its legal branch, and chief of staff of the Office of the Commissioner.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman and studied law at the Ateneo de Manila University.
A government agency attached to the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the NTC is primarily responsible for the regulation, supervision, adjudication and control of all telecommunications services and television and radio networks in the country.
The NTC is led by a commissioner and two deputy commissioners.
Meanwhile, the President also signed on February 7 the appointment papers of the new members of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), both operating under the Department of Labor and Employment.
Marcos designated Arturo Baesa, Annie Geron, Angelita Señorin and Jesus Villamor as members of the NTIPC, representing the labor sector.
Also appointed were Juan Johnny de la Cruz and Alfonso Lao as members of the RTWPB in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Romeo Sustiguer Jr. as board member in Caraga, representing the employers’ sector.
Marcos also tapped Romeo Leyes (Director 4), Josemari Hernando (Director 3) and Lita Rosales (Director 3) as new officials at the Department of Agrarian Reform; Karen Kristien Roscom (Director 4) at the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards; Paul Limson (Director 4) at the Bureau of Animal Industry; and Ma. Jozzenne Claire Beltran-Carandan and Maria Dionesia Rivera-Guillermo, both Deputy Executive Directors 4 at the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office.
