Blancaflor is new IPO chief

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor left the Department of Justice (DOJ) the other day to assume his new post as director general of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Blancaflor took his oath of office at IPO, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), last March 3 as the replacement of former IPO Director General Adrian Cristobal Jr., who ended his term on Dec. 31, 2009.

Cristobal was appointed by President Arroyo in 2005.

Blancaflor, on the other hand, assumed his post in 2007 shortly after outgoing Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera was appointed as acting secretary of the department.

During his stint at the DOJ, Blancaflor served as chairman of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). He was also part of the team that handled the case involving the gruesome massacre of 57 persons in Maguindanao in Nov. 23 last year.   – Edu Punay