Ex-lawmaker from Maguindanao is new Ched commissioner

New Ched Commissioner Ronald Adamat with President Rodrigo Duterte. PHOTO FROM ADAMAT’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed a former lawmaker as the newest commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).

Commissioner Ronald Adamat replaced Commissioner Ruperto S. Sangalang, whose term expired last July 2016.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said Adamat was appointed on December 9.

Adamat served as a Sectoral Representative for Cultural Communities during the 10th Congress and a commissioner of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) from 2010 to 2011.

He is currently a lecturer at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Manila.

“We welcome Commissioner Adamat to the Ched family, and we look forward to working with him closely in advancing our efforts to expand access to quality higher education,” Ched Chairperson Patricia said of Licuanan in a statement.

READ: CHED execs want to fill Licuanan’s Cabinet slot

“Coming from Maguindanao, and with his strong ties with the IP sector, we very much look forward to his contributions towards helping us ensure that higher education is inclusive for all Filipino learners,” Licuanan said.

Licuanan said Adamat assured her that “he is a team player, which is very much in line with how we do things collegially in our Commission En Banc (CEB).”

Adamat is the second appointee of Duterte to the Commission amid calls for Licuanan to tender a courtesy resignation.

Licuanan was an appointee of former President Benigno Aquino III and was reappointed in 2014. Her term expires in 2018.

Licuanan refused to tender a courtesy resignation despite a memorandum circular issued last August ordering all presidential appointees of Aquino to resign.

Licuanan is no longer attending Cabinet meetings after she was issued a “desist order” by Duterte due to their “irreconcilable differences.” IDL/rga

READ: Licuanan to ‘comply’ with Duterte desist order but won’t resign