President appoints Tulfo special envoy to China
President Duterte has appointed two journalists to join the government. The President named Inquirer columnist and broadcaster Ramon Tulfo special envoy for public diplomacy to China for six months. In his column last Oct. 6, Tulfo said he offered to become a special envoy to China, instead of seeking a seat in the Senate. President Duterte had reportedly offered to help Tulfo if he decided to run in next year’s midterm elections. “As special envoy to China, which pays only P1 per year, I could retain my public service program—‘Isumbong Mo kay Tulfo’—on dzRP, my bread and butter,” Tulfo said. Aside from Tulfo, the President appointed PTV-4 news operations head Raquel Tobias as undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office. Mr. Duterte also named Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on the peace process, as his special envoy to the European Union until Dec. 31, 2018. Myra Paz Abubakar was named assistant secretary of the Department of Tourism. —JULIE M. AURELIO
PH wins executive committee seat in int’l privacy body
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Despite being a newcomer to data privacy regulation, the Philippines has earned a voting seat in the five-member executive committee of the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC), a worldwide conference of 119 independent regulators that explores high-level proposals on data privacy and protection. The voting was held on Oct. 23 during a meeting at Palais D’ Egmont in Brussels. Raymund Enriquez Liboro, commissioner of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and head of the Philippine delegation, said the country had drawn attention to its promotion of global data protection standards with a uniquely Asian approach to regulation. “It is an honor for the NPC to represent the country at the ICDPPC, especially in a leadership capacity. This is an acknowledgement of the hard work we expend, as well as the country’s commitment to data protection,” Liboro said.