Arroyo names Roque as new DOLE chief

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday named Marianito Roque as the new secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), who was earlier appointed to the post in an acting capacity. President Arroyo announced the ad interim appointment in a speech during her visit to Yazaki Torres Manufacturing Plant in Calamba, Laguna. "Because labor day is coming and I would like to introduce our new Secretary of Labor (Marianito) Nitoy Roque," Arroyo said. Last March 17, Malacañang appointed Roque, who is concurrent head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), as acting DOLE chief following the appointment of then-Labor Sec. Arturo Brion to the Supreme Court. Roque, who earned his bachelor's degree in economics at the De La Salle Univeristy and his master's degree in business administration at the Ateneo de Manila University, was a marketing professor at the Philippine Women's University before he joined government. - Amita Leqaspi, GMANews.TV