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Updated @ 10:15 p.m., Monday, July 11, 2022
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has nominated Raphael Lotilla as the next energy secretary, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced in a statement on Monday.
Cruz-Angeles stressed that the selection is “right now a nomination, pending clarification of his employment status.”
She issued the clarification two hours after announcing Lotilla as the “designated” energy secretary.
According to her, Lotilla is currently an independent director of Aboitiz Power and also of ENEXOR.
Citing Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7638 or the Act Creating the Department of Energy, Cruz-Angeles said that “no officer, external auditor, accountant, or legal counsel of any private company or enterprise primarily engaged in the energy industry shall be eligible for appointment as Secretary within two years from his retirement, resignation, or separation therefrom.”
“Thus while the matter is reviewed to determine whether an independent director is considered an officer of the company, Lotilla is considered a nominee,” Cruz-Angeles said.
Lotilla was a part of the Arroyo Cabinet as energy secretary from 2005 to 2007.
Before that, he was the president and chief executive officer of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).
PSALM is the government corporation tasked to manage the privatization of generation assets and other non-power assets, including the management of financial obligations and stranded contract costs of the state-owned National Power Corporation (NPC).
Lotilla also served as deputy director general of the National Economic Development Authority.
He is a law professor at the University of the Philippines where he graduated with his Bachelor of Laws, according to Cruz-Angeles.
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