Retired colonel linked to P6.4-B shabu mess named new NCIP chair

A retired military colonel once linked to the P6.4-billion shabu smuggling controversy in 2017 has been named new chairperson of National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

According to appointment papers released by Malacañang on Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte has named Allen Capuyan as new head of the NCIP, the agency in charge of protecting and promoting the interest and well-being of indigenous peoples with due regard to their beliefs, customs, traditions and institutions.

Capuyan, who allegedly provided tariff codes that allowed the shabu smugglers to skip  X-ray inspection, previously served as executive director of the National Secretariat of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

MWSS

Duterte also appointed retired Army general Ricardo Morales as member of the board of trustees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), replacing Reynaldo Velasco.

Morales will serve the unexpired term of Velasco that began in July 2018 and will end on June 30, 2019.

Both appointment papers were dated May 27.

Duterte earlier said he tapped Morales to serve as "chairman" of the MWSS.

Morales' appointment came after Metro Manila and Rizal suffered a water crisis in March, something that caught the ire of the President.

Duterte had lashed out at MWSS for its supposed failure to prepare for the El Niño phenomenon and said he would not think twice of replacing the MWSS officials given the surplus of talented Filipino engineers.

On March 20, Velasco vowed to resign as MWSS administrator should the agency fail to end the water shortage that has affected 1.2 million households serviced by Metro Manila east zone concessionaire Manila Water.

Manila Water, which apologized for the water interruptions, had said the problems of increasing demand and inadequate supply have been aggravated by El Niño. —KBK, GMA News