Ex-CDC head gets CHED

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has appointed Angeles University Foundation vice chairman and chancellor and former Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president Emmanuel Angeles as the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Angeles is very qualified for the post, considering that he is a veteran educator who holds a doctorate degree.

Angeles takes over the post from CHED commissioner Nona Ricafort who was designated as officer-in-charge last month after former CHED acting chairman Romulo Neri was transferred to the Social Security System as its administrator.

Ricafort, wife of newly appointed CDC chairman Benigno “Benny” Ricafort, welcomed the appointment of Angeles, saying she is ready to hand over the reins of CHED to him.

“I welcome the appointment since it will give me time to focus on my tasks as a commissioner,” said Ricafort, who heads the CHED’s task group on the ladderization of several college programs and the P1-billion student loans and scholarship assistance of the government.

According to the website of the Angeles University Foundation, Angeles is a lawyer by profession and an educator by vocation.

He obtained his Bachelor of Laws at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1960 and his Master of Laws and Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the University of Santo Tomas in 1968 and 1971, respectively.

He also pursued a post-graduate course in Educational Management at the Harvard University Institute of Educational Management in Boston, Massachusetts in 1981.

Angeles became the second president of Angeles University Foundation in March 1976 and is currently the chancellor and vice chairman.

He is president and chairman of the board of the Angeles University Foundation Medical Center; immediate past president and chairman of the board of governors of the Private Schools Athletics Association; immediate past president and ex-officio board member of the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific, the first Filipino to assume such position; and incumbent Honorary of the State of Eritrea to the Philippines.

Angeles was a recipient of five honorary degrees and five honorary professorships from prestigious universities in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom.

Other awards received by Angeles include the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award in Social Education in 1971; Papal Award of the Noble Knighthood in Private Education in 1987; Ulirang Ama Award for Education in Kapampangan in 1987; The Outstanding Thomasian Alumnus Award in Education, given by the University of Santo Tomas in 1999; and the Most Outstanding JCI Senator of the Philippines awarded by the Philippine Jaycees Senate in October 2003.

During the Estrada administration, Angeles was appointed as a member of the Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reforms, which was tasked to study the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Under the present administration, Angeles served as president and chief executive officer of the CDC from March 2001 to March 2005.

He was also president and CEO of the Clark International Airport Corp. and director of the North Luzon Railways Corp. – Marvin Sy, Rainier Allan Ronda