MANILA, Philippines -- Deflecting criticisms, Malacañang assured that pension funds of workers in the private sector under the Social Security System (SSS) are secure with its newly-appointed administrator Romulo Neri at the helm.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also thinks that Neri, the current chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), is also the best person to oversee the consolidation of the government's social welfare programs under the National Social Welfare Program, which she created through Administrative Order 232, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Wednesday.

Ermita said the President herself crafted the order which made Neri, as SSS administrator, head in the work of clustering the existing programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Health, SSS, and the Government Service Insurance Systems.

As head of this program, Neri will have a Cabinet rank.

Ermita said Neri's utmost concern was "not to put in jeopardy" the interest of SSS members. He said that being an economist, Neri has the competence to lead the SSS.

"He is very qualified, he is an organization man, he has wide knowledge on the economy and therefore it cannot be said that Neri is wanting in competence in running offices such as the SSS, just like other Cabinet members, he is qualified," he said in his weekly news conference.

Senator Francis Escudero has criticized Neri's appointment, saying the official has a record of "covering up" for the President in the controversial national broadband network (NBN) agreement.

Neri, who was director general of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) when the contract was approved, was criticized for his reluctance to reveal information on the NBN, citing executive privilege.

Asked if he would continue to be covered by executive privilege in his new post, Ermita said that he would still enjoy this since as head of the National Social Welfare Program, he had Cabinet rank.