Marcos names 3 new officials

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed more high-ranking officials in his administration, the Presidential Communications Office said on Thursday.

In a Facebook post, the PCO said Marcos named Angelito Vergel de Dios as commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government under the Department of Justice. Vergel de Dios is the former executive director of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

The PCGG is a quasi-judicial government body whose primary responsibility is to search for and retrieve the ill-gotten wealth allegedly accumulated by the President's late father, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Marcos also designated Bryan Lim as the President's Special Envoy to the Republic of Korea for Trade and Investments.

A report said Lim is vice president for business development of Suyen Corp., the firm that owns the Bench clothing line. It said that Lim donated P20 million to Marcos's 2022 presidential campaign.

Suyen Corp. is also involved in real estate, furnishings, and food. It entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2019 to sublet a portion of Global Gateway Development Corp.'s property in the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. Global Gateway Development Corp. is a subsidiary of Dennis Uy's Udenna Group.

Marcos also appointed Julius Neri Jr. as general manager and CEO of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority and as a member of its board of directors.

In July 2021, former president Rodrigo Duterte appointed Neri, president of SunStar Publishing Inc., as general manager of MCIAA. Since December 2016, he has represented the private sector on the MCIAA board.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Paul Soriano is said to be no longer the Presidential Adviser for Creative Communications.

In a Senate hearing on Thursday, where senators discussed the proposed P5.768 trillion budget and the proposed allocations for the Office of the President for the year,

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel Jr. questioned Soriano's whereabouts when Senator Sonny Angara defended OP's budget.

"Is he no longer part of it?" Pimentel asked.

Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said, "He is no longer connected."

Soriano's name came up when Pimentel Jr. asked about an ad campaign with the slogan "We give the world our best," which can be seen on buses in London. The senator wanted to know who funded that ad campaign in another country.

Angara defended that the funding for that campaign did not come from the OP.

"So, it was not a certain presidential adviser, was it?" Pimentel asked again without mentioning a name.

Angara said the funds used for the ad campaign in another country did not come from official funds.

"It might be his personal initiative. It could be that… I'm just speculating," Pimentel said.

In October 2022, Soriano was appointed Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications. However, Malacañang said in July that Soriano filed a leave because of personal concerns.

Soriano's role as Presidential Adviser for Creative Communications was to advise government agencies and departments "on matters that will enhance their information dissemination programs and initiatives," as stated earlier by the Malacañang.

Malacañang has yet to comment on Soriano's status.