WHEN news broke out last week that veteran actor Tirso Cruz III took his oath in Malacañang as the new chairman of the Film Development Council of the Philippines , members of the movie industry were caught by surprise.
To clarify, Diño’s post is not co-terminus with former President Rodrigo Duterte, and thus she is not included in the Memorandum Circular which declared that all co-terminus positions are deemed resigned at the end of the term of President Duterte. In fact, Malacañang, through its Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles , said that under Republic Act 9167, the president can exercise his power to remove the current chair and appoint a new one.“Incumbent FDCP chairman Mary Liza Diño was called to Malacañang yesterday, July 6, 2022, by the Office of Executive Secretary to discuss the appointment of incoming FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz III as the new head of the agency.