Danga now heads National Printing Office

Retired vice admiral Tirso Danga has been named head of the National Printing Office (NPO) following the removal of Enrique Agana, a senior Malacañang official said yesterday.

Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde, in an interview over radio dzRB, said he was informed about the appointment of Danga by outgoing Press Secretary Jesus Dureza.

Remonde is set to assume the post of Press Secretary next month and would be overseeing the NPO as one of the offices under the Office of the Press Secretary.

According to Remonde, the shake up at the NPO was welcome, considering that it was the subject of complaints from government agencies and offices about alleged irregularities in the agency’s operations.

Dureza revealed last year that there was an attempt by some groups within the NPO to overprice ballots for the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

At the time of Dureza’s disclosure of the irregularity, Agana had not yet assumed as head of the NPO even though he was appointed by the President in 2007.

Danga was one of the key figures in the “Hello, Garci” controversy involving wiretapped conversations between former Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and several politicians, including President Arroyo, during the 2004 elections.

He was head of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the 2004 elections.

Senators Manuel Roxas II and Francis Pangilinan yesterday said the appointment of retired military and police generals to government positions does not speak well of a democratic country where civilian supremacy must always prevail.

Roxas said it was important to protect the civilian nature of government and that appointing former military and police officials seemed to be sending the message that Martial Law might be declared.

Pangilinan said the militarization of the Arroyo government did not begin with this latest reshuffling but has been going on since the “Hello, Garci” controversy.  – With Aurea Calica