President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has appointed former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Agnes Devanadera as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), a Palace document showed.
In a letter signed by Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez dated September 1, 2022, Devanadera will also serve as a member of the CDC's board of directors.
Devanadera's appointment to the CDC was also confirmed by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Saturday evening.
LOOK: President Marcos names Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson Agnes Devanadera as Acting President and CEO, and Member of the Board of Directors of Clark Development Corporation. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/2PGscAY0vK
— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyllcyrus_MB) September 3, 2022
The CDC is a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) which is tasked with managing the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) and Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).
Former President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Devanadera to the ERC in November 2017 and served as its chairperson until July 10 this year. She replaced Jose Vicente Salazar, who Duterte dismissed after being found guilty following charges of neglect of duty and other anomalies.
Devanadera served as former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Solicitor General and acting justice secretary when Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was on medical leave.
She is the 41st and first woman Philippine Solicitor General appointed by Arroyo in February 2007.
In 2006, Devanadera was charged with graft for a debt agreement signed by the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) and British lending firm Radstock Securities Inc.
According to the case information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, Devanadera advised the PNCC to enter into an amicable settlement with Radstock, which bought the rights to PNCC's debt to Japanese firm Marubeni Corp., worth more than P6 billion.
In May 2017, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the graft case, citing delay on the part of the Ombudsman in conducting its preliminary investigation.
According to the Sandiganbayan, it took the Ombudsman more than six years to complete its preliminary investigation.
"It bears stressing that the assertion or non-assertion of the right to a speedy disposition of one's case is just one of the factors to consider in determining whether or not the right has been violated," the court's resolution read.