MANILA, 18 June 2006 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday appointed Court of Appeals Judge Arturo Brion as labor secretary, replacing Patricia Sto. Tomas, who was named chair of a government-run bank.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Brion will assume his new post on July 2.
“President Arroyo acknowledges with sincere thanks Secretary Sto. Tomas’ accomplishments in sustaining employment through industrial peace, looking after the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and ensuring synergy among the tripartite partners-labor, management and government-for faster growth through better cooperation,” Bunye said in a press statement.
Sto. Tomas, the longest-serving member of the Arroyo Cabinet, will be the new chair of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Bunye said.
Ellene Sana, executive director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), said she was hopeful that Brion’s former associations with OFWs would benefit the migrant sector.
“Let us give him the benefit of the doubt,” she said.
Brion formerly served as an interim chairman of the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat while serving briefly as undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). He was then undersecretary for special projects from August 2002 to June 2003 until he was appointed as associate justice of the Court of Appeals.
He also once headed the DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, a post currently being held by Undersecretary Esteban Conejos.
Brion is no stranger to the labor front. He was executive director of the Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies from 1982 to 1984 and deputy minister of labor for legal and legislative affairs from 1985 to 1986 of the former Ministry of Labor.
In March 2001, he served as undersecretary for labor relations until he moved to the DFA.
According to Bunye, Sto. Tomas will still travel with the president to Spain later this month. Sto. Tomas is to sign a memorandum agreement with her Spanish counterpart during the visit as her last official act in office. The agreement, which would allow migration of Filipino workers to Spain, is preparatory to the signing of a bilateral agreement between Philippines and Spain in 2007.
“The president is proud of Secretary Sto. Tomas’s public service record which is a testimony to hard work, honesty, and technical competence,” he added.
