Info tech expert Ivan John Uy on Thursday took his oath as Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.
Uy was among the 11 Cabinet members reappointed by the President after they were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments due to “lack of material time.”
The 10 reappointed Cabinet officials took their oath last Wednesday when Uy was in Romania to attend the plenipotentiary conference of the ITU Council.
At the conference, he led a successful bid for the country’s seat in the International Telecommunications Union Council.
Prior to his government stint, Uy was the corporate secretary of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He also previously headed the Commission on Information and Communications Technology under the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III.
Meanwhile, the President appointed veteran election lawyer Ernesto Maceda Jr. as a new commissioner of the Commission on Elections.
Also reappointed was veteran IT expert Ernesto Celis, whose nomination was previously bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.
If CA confirmed their nominations, they will be serving in Comelec until February 2029.
In a statement, Comelec stated that “Maceda brings with him decades-long experience as a constitutionalist and election law practitioner.”
“Thus we are confident that we will have a staunch ally in the discharge of the Comelec’s bounden duty as guardian of the sovereign will,” the poll body stated.
Likewise, Comelec said Celis would make a “great contribution in defining this Commission’s policy direction on the future of automated elections.”