Cua appointed PCSO head; ambassadors to US, UN named 

FORMER lawmaker Junie E. Cua took his oath as chair of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Tuesday, according to the presidential palace. 

He was among the appointees who were sworn in by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday, Malacañang said in a statement. 

He will lead an agency that raises funds for health services and charities of national character through sweepstakes and lottery games, which need to compete with emerging games that the previous administration had accommodated.  

Mr. Cua, who represented the lone district of Quirino province in the previous Congress, will also need to digitize the agency’s gaming operations to maximize online sales and ensure that revenues are accounted for. 

The agency has been marred by corruption, with state auditors flagging irregularities in its operations. 

Others who took their oath of office on Tuesday were: Mark T. Lapid, who was reappointed as chief operating officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority; Abdulghani Salapuddin as administrator of the Southern Philippines Development Authority; Romeo Lumagui, Jr as deputy commissioner for operations of the Bureau of Internal Revenue;  Amenah Pangandaman as secretary of the Department of Budget; and Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso as president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System.  

Antonio Manuel R. Lagdameo, the new permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, and Jose Manuel D. Romualdez, who will maintain his post as ambassador of the Philippines to the United States, also took their oaths.  

Tirso S. Cruz III is the new chairperson and chief executive of the Film Development Council while Juan Revilla was sworn in as a new board member at the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.  

At the Bureau of Immigration, Regulation Division Chief  Rogelio D. Gevero, Jr. has been designated as officer-in-charge by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla.  

Mr. Gevero will have authority over the bureau until July 31 or until a replacement has been appointed or designated, according to July 4 order signed by Mr. Remulla. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D. Ordonez