Current National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chairman Felipe de Leon has spoken about the rumored appointment of folk singer Freddie Aguilar as head of the cultural agency.
De Leon said that President Rodrigo Duterte cannot choose the next NCCA head since the position is not appointive.
In a text mesage sent to the Businessworld, De Leon explained how one becomes a chairman of the NCCA.
“The chairman is elected by the Board of Commissioners. There are four levels of elections — general assembly, committee membership, committee chairmanship, and head of a subcommission — before you can be a member of the Board, who will then elect its Chair. The committee members are fiercely independent artists and cultural workers who will always like to choose their own leaders,” De Leon explained.
“I think it is better to treat these rumors with skepticism. He might be severely disappointed. Are you sure he will win all five levels of democratic election?” he added.
A quick look at Republic Act 7356 confirms what De Leon said.
Section 9 of the said Act states that, “The Chairman of the Commission shall be elected by the members from among themselves.”
“The President has not made any formal announcement that he has appointed Mr. Aguilar. Doing that would be patently illegal. I suppose the President will respect the law,” De Leon said.
Aguilar’s rumored appointment has become a cause of online furor in the past days, especially after he shared his rather simplistic solution to the Torre de Manila condominium in Manila that violates the skyline of Jose Rizal’s monument in Luneta.
Malacañang defended Duterte’s showbiz appointments. Communications secretary Martin Andanar asked the public to respect the President’s prerogative in choosing people who will join the Duterte administration.
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