Marcos appoints Arnell Ignacio as OWWA administrator

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has appointed Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Arnell Ignacio as the agency's new administrator, Tuesday Niu reported on Dobol B TV on Wednesday.

Ignacio (real name: Arnaldo Arevalo Ignacio) will replace former OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, the report said, citing Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles.

In a separate report, Niu, citing Ignacio himself, said Mary Melanie Quiño and Emma Sinclair have been appointed OWWA deputy administrators.

Quiño will replace Ignacio in the post while Sinclair will replace Ryan Vincent Uy.

UPDATE: Mary Melanie Quiño at Emma Sinclair, itinalaga bilang mga bagong deputy administrators ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). | via @mamutuesday pic.twitter.com/qcjB6rG9M3

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 9, 2022

The report also said Ignacio was tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in home isolation.

Ignacio first served in OWWA during the Duterte administration.

Meanwhile, a separate statement from Cruz-Angeles said Cacdac will be serving as Department of Migrant Workers' Undersecretary on Welfare and Foreign Employment.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Bernard Olalia, on the other hand, will be Undersecretary for Licensing and Adjudication.

"He will be the OIC of POEA until such time that the department is deemed fully constituted on the approval of the 2023 budget," Cruz-Angeles said.

She added that Venecio Legaspi, a former overseas Filipino worker, has been appointed as the Assistant Secretary for Reintegration.

In a news release, DMW Secretary Susan Ople vowed that with these appointees, the agency would make a "secure home for our OFWs and their families."

“This mix of familiar faces and new names reflects our desire for continuity and innovation. The DMW's 'dream team' is now in place, and we vow to serve our OFWs faithfully and with utmost professionalism," she said.

Ople also bared the other key appointments:

•     Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones — Undersecretary for Finance and Internal Affairs;
•     Patricia Yvonne Caunan — Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation;
•     Jerome A. Alcantara — Assistant Secretary for Land-based services and concurrently Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary;
•     Levinson C. Alcantara — Assistant Secretary for Pre-employment Services;
•     Felicitas Q. Bay — Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers Welfare Services;
•     Francis Ron C. de Guzman — Assistant Secretary for Licensing and Adjudication Services;
•     Jerome T. Pampolina — Assistant Secretary Sea-based Services; and
•     Violeta D. Illescas — Assistant Secretary for Internal Management and Administration.
   

— with Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK/RSJ/AOL, GMA News