Former UP dean named DFA undersecretary

President Arroyo has appointed a former dean of the University of the Philippines-College of Law as new undersecretary for migrant workers at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The DFA said lawyer Merlyn Magallona replaced Benjamin Domingo effective March 26. Domingo served under the Estrada administration and thus his term was co-terminus with that of the former chief executive.

Magallona also serves as personal consultant of Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr., who recommended his appointment.

The undersecretary for the Office of the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers’ Affairs is a political appointee because the office is not an integral part of the DFA. It was created separately to handle the case of overseas Filipino workers. –Aurea Calica