Malacañang has named Undersecretary Ernesto Perez, the Deputy Director-General for Operations of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), as Officer-in-Charge (OIC), the ARTA said on Friday, June 10.
In a statement, ARTA said that based on the memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Friday, Perez will serve as OIC until June 30, 2022, "to ensure continuous and effective delivery of public service."
Perez thanked President Duterte for appointing him as OIC of the agency, saying he will ensure ARTA will continue moving forward following graft allegations against its high-ranking executives.
"My appointment as OIC of ARTA appears to be providential as I was also appointed as OIC when the agency was formed. I thank the President and the officials and staff of ARTA for their continued trust and support," he said.
"During this period, I will ensure that ARTA will be able to sustain its reform toward our dream of a smarter and better Philippines," he added.
Perez said ARTA remains undeterred and will continue to perform its functions against bureaucratic red tape.
"Please be assured that the day-to-day operations of ARTA will continue to run smoothly under my watch and that services will not be hampered as we perform this sacred duty to further improve the efficiency of government services," he said.
JUST IN: Malacañang names Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Undersecretary Ernesto Perez as ARTA OIC after the Ombudsman to place Director-General Jeremiah Belgica and four other officials under preventive suspension over graft allegations, ARTA says. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/wR1y9uIxT0
— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyllcyrus_MB) June 10, 2022
The newly appointed OIC was also the first employee of the agency. He was assigned as the ARTA head on December 18, 2018, before the appointment of ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica on July 8, 2019.
Perez is a lawyer and certified public accountant (CPA) who served as assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Consumer Protection Group from January 2017 to November 2018.
He concurrently served as chairman of the DTI-Steel Task Force, where he led the investigation of the biggest steel importation in the country. He likewise served as OIC-Director of the Bureau of Philippine Standards, where he promulgated the development of 108 new standards and revision of 151 Philippine National Standards aligned with the international standards of ISO/IEC and good regulatory practices of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Perez's appointment came following the Ombudsman's order to preventively suspend Belgica and four other executives for six months following a case filed by DITO Telecommunity.
DITO Telecommunity accused the suspended ARTA officials of Grave Misconduct, Gross Neglect of Duty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service. This stemmed from ARTA's supposed preferential treatment favoring NOW Telecom.
The preferential treatment was evidenced by ARTA's Resolution and Order of Automatic Approval assigning Contingent Frequencies in favor of NOW Tel, which came after the government awarded the same frequencies to DITO as the country's new telco major player.