Noy appoints Cristobal as DTI officer-in-charge

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has appointed Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. as ad interim secretary of the DTI to replace Gregory Domingo whose resignation takes effect tomorrow, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. made the announcement through Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

Domingo, who resigned to go back to the private sector, said earlier that he recommended Cristobal to take his place.

Cristobal is undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy Group since the DTI’s reorganization in 2012. He also served as concurrent vice chairman and managing head of the Board of Investments.

He was responsible for the formulation and implementation of the country’s policies on industry development, investment and trade, as well as international trade relations and negotiations.

Cristobal first joined the government as special assistant to the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government from 1991 to 1994. He subsequently established his own law practice, taught politics and governance at the Ateneo School of Government and served as adviser to heads of different government agencies.

In 2001, he was appointed DTI undersecretary for Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Group, and was also designated supervising undersecretary for the Office of Legal Affairs and the DTI secretary’s chief of staff.

In 2005, he was appointed director general of the Intellectual Property Office for a fixed term until 2009. He later returned to private practice and became a professor at De La Salle University.

His public service career resumed in August 2010 when he was appointed DTI undersecretary for International Trade Group, responsible for the country’s international trade policy and negotiations, including export promotions.

Cristobal obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and his Juris Doctor of Laws at the Ateneo de Manila University.