P-Noy names NEDA deputy as acting chief

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has appointed National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) deputy director-general Emmanuel Esguerra as acting head of the agency, replacing Arsenio Balisacan, who has been given a fixed seven-year term as chairman of a newly formed body.

Esguerra will serve as socio-economic planning secretary for the remaining five months of the administration.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Esguerra’s appointment papers have been submitted to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

Esguerra used to head NEDA’s National Development Office for Policy and Planning.

“He (Esguerra) was an associate professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, where he was also chair of the Economics Department prior to his appointment to NEDA in July 2012,” Coloma disclosed.

“We will build on what the agency has accomplished under former secretary Balisacan and continue the ongoing programs and projects for the remaining months of the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016,” Esguerra said in a statement.

“We want a seamless transition towards the preparation of the successor development plan as the next administration settles in,” he said.

“Expect the continuation of the thrusts that we have focused on in the last few years: human capital development and investment in infrastructure to ensure the inclusivity of development,” the NEDA official added.

Balisacan assumed the chairmanship of the newly formed Philippine Competition Commission yesterday.

The five-man quasi-judicial body is tasked to screen the competitiveness of companies.

Balisacan’s commissioners, who will also serve for seven years or until January 2023, are Ma. Stella Alabastro-Quimbo, wife of Marikina congressman and House and ways and means committee chairman Miro Quimbo; and Johannes Bernabe.

Quimbo took up economics and graduated summa cum laude from the University of the Philippines in 1991, and was a recipient of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) in 2010.

Quimbo’s research helped develop the formulation of the National Insurance Act which spawned the PhilHealth program of the government through the Department of Health, which is now implementing a universal healthcare program for Filipinos.