Arroyo's ex-agrarian reform chief Rene Villa named to LWUA board

Malacañang on Friday announced its appointment of former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rene Villa as a replacement for dismissed Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) board of trustees member and chairman Prospero Pichay. Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte made the announcement at a press briefing in Malacañang. Villa was part of the "Hyatt 10" – a group of 10 Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials of the Gloria Arroyo administration – who officially withdrew their support from Arroyo at a meeting in the Hyatt Hotel in Manila in 2005, and joined groups that called for her ouster from office over the "Hello Garci" poll fraud scandal. The other members of Hyatt 10 who are now with the Aquino administration are Social Welfare Secretary Corazon 'Dinky' Soliman, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita 'Ging' Deles. Valte said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed Villa's appointment papers on August 24. LWUA board members will meet to elect a new chairman. “Dahil sa GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) po yan [LWUA], meron silang sariling board at kailangan nilang mag-eleksyon sa board bago mag-elect ng chairman at general manager," Valte said. Also, Valte said the belated announcement of the appointment was due to a system being followed when transmitting official papers from one office to another. “Minsan naiiwan lang. We will speak to our friends in the Office of Executive Secretary on how we can remedy the situation," she said. In July, Malacañang dismissed Pichay as LWUA chairman and two other officials for their alleged misuse of the agency’s funds, a move which is in compliance with the dismissal order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman. Pichay, who was allied with the Arroyo administration, earlier said he will question the dismissal order in the Court of Appeals. He accused then acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro of using the case to impress the Aquino administration, noting that Casimiro had applied for the Ombudsman post. Casimiro found Pichay, acting administrator Daniel Landingin and acting deputy administrator Wilfredo Feleo liable for grave misconduct for their “unlawful disbursement" of P780 million in LWUA funds to invest in the Laguna-based thrift bank Express Savings Bank Inc. (EXSBI). LWUA is a specialized lending institution for the promotion, development, and financing of local water utilities, and a depository of the reserves for capital improvement of local water utilities. — LBG/HS, GMA News