‘Leftist’ exec given new hat

Months after President Duterte ordered him relieved from his post, former Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) undersecretary Joel Maglunsod is back with the agency – but this time, in a different post.

Duterte appointed Maglunsod as Executive Director III at the National Maritime Polytechnic – which is still under the DoLE – in a document released by Malacañang on Monday.

The appointment letter was dated 25 January 2019.

Maglunsod was earlier fired from the agency after peace talks between Manila and the communist party leadership bogged down. He was the last of the leftists to leave the Duterte Cabinet last October.

The President had earlier appointed several former left-wing lawmakers and activists to government positions after Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison supported his 2016 presidential campaign.

Attempts at reviving negotiations to end the decades-old communist insurgency hit several roadblocks and ties between Duterte and Sison soured, leading to the leftists’ departure from the Cabinet.

Lawmakers had also rejected last year the appointments of Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, a former Anakpawis partylist representative. Former Kabataan partylist Rep. Terry Ridon was fired as Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor chair over alleged excessive travels and former Gabriela partylist Rep. Liza Maza resigned as National Anti-Poverty Commission chairperson.