Rene Villa appointed to LWUA board

MANILA, Philippines–President Aquino has appointed former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rene Villa to the board of the Local Water Utilities Administration, replacing its former chair Prospero Pichay.

Villa is a member of the Hyatt 10—a group of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Cabinet members that resigned at the height of the “Hello Garci’’ electoral fraud scandal in 2005.

Pichay, a staunch ally of Arroyo’s, was dismissed from the government service for a charge arising from the LWUA’s involvement in a failed bank in Laguna.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said Villa won’t automatically be Pichay’s replacement as LWUA chair.

“He will have to be elected by the board. Since the LWUA is a GOCC (government-owned and/or controlled corporation), they have their own board. They have to have elections in the board to elect the chairman and the general manager,” Valte said.

Valte said Villa also has an appointment as presidential assistant under the Office of the President.