DOLE chief trims number of top labor execs

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma (Photo from the Facebook account of the DOLE)

MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has trimmed the number of senior officials at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from 12 to nine.

Laguesma also reduced the number of undersecretaries from seven to five, and assistant secretaries from five to four. Four of the newly appointed senior officials are incumbent or returning career labor officials like Laguesma.

Named undersecretaries were Ciriaco Lagunzad III for operations and administration; Benedicto Bitonio Jr. for labor relations, policy and international affairs; Carmela Torres for employment and human resource development; Benjo Benavidez for workers’ protection and welfare; and Felipe Egargo Jr. for legislative liaison and legal affairs.

Appointed assistant secretaries were Dominique Tutay for workers’ welfare and protection; Liavel Crisostomo for administration and operations; Paul Añover for employment and human resource development; Lennard Serrano for legislative and legal affairs. Of the four assistant secretaries, only Tutay is a career labor official while the others are lawyers joining the labor department for the first time.

—DONA Z.PAZZIBUGAN

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