BREAKING NEWS: Malacañang finally replaces three (3) Arroyo-era midnight appointees to the U.P. Board of Regents

(Source: Radio-TV Malacañang via 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRDkrEb3tzQ)

President Benigno S. Aquino III today appointed three (3) replacements for the Arroyo-era midnight appointees to the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Board of Regents (BOR).

The three new regents are: former Chief Justice Renato Puno, who replaces the late former Associate Justice Abraham F. Sarmiento who passed away on October 3, 2010. The others are former U.P. College of Business Administration (CBA) Dean, Dr. Magdaleno Albarracin, Jr., and actress and director Bibeth Orteza (also known as Elizabeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna), the daughter-in-law of Armida Siguion-Reyna, the noted singer and actress.

Regent Albarracin and Regent Orteza Siguion-Reyna replace former Regents Nelia Gonzales and Francis Chua who were Regents in a holdover capacity until today's appointments by President Aquino.

According to Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo's Updates to the September 24, 2010 BOR meeting, President Aquino had already asked U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman last September 20 to submit new names to replace then-Regents Sarmiento, Gonzales and Chua. President Roman renominated all three midnight appointee Regents, but also nominated former Justice Puno and former CBA Dean Albarracin, and others. Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Acting Alumni Regent Gladys Tiongco and Faculty Regent Taguiwalo also submitted their own sets of nominees to Malacañang through U.P. Administration channels.

Regent Orteza Siguion-Reyna was not nominated through U.P. Administration channels, but this is still allowed under the 2008 U.P. Charter (RA 9500) which stipulates that the Philippine President will appoint three regents, but considering only the recommendation of the BOR.

 (Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/images/pnoy%20oath%20up%202.jpg)

The three regents have already taken their oaths of office today before President Aquino at the Premier Guest House in Malacañang , the Office of the Executive Secretary confirmed in a telephone conversation with the Diliman Diary. An appointment is deemed by legal authorities as not being sufficient to hold office, as there must also be an acceptance by the nominee. The taking of an oath of office is therefore sufficient to constitute acceptance.

Regents Puno, Albarracin and Orteza Siguion-Reyna are therefore allowed to vote in the first round of elections for the new U.P. President scheduled on December 19, 2010 at Quezon Hall, U.P. Diliman. There are eleven members in the BOR with its Chair, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson, Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan usually not voting except to break a tie or in other exceptional circumstances as agreed upon by the BOR itself.

According to Radio-TV Malacañang (http://rtvm.gov.ph), all three regents are U.P. graduates. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno (College of Law '75), Elizabeth Siguion-Reyna (Institute of Creative Writing '75) and Dr. Magdaleno B. Albarracin Jr. (College of Engineering '56) will serve the 11-member BOR for two years.

Radio-TV Malacañang said President Aquino asked the new BOR members to do what they can to bring U.P. back to its glory days given its limited resources. The new officials, on the other hand hope to develop a plan to enrich its academic and non-academic curricula, Radio-TV Malacanang said.