The director of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Rizal Library has asked the Ombudsman to look into President Duterte’s March 2017 appointment of an alleged non-librarian to head the National Library of the Philippines. In a nine-page letter dated Jan. 19, Dr. Vernon Totanes claimed Ceasar Gilbert Adriano’s appointment to the position of NLP director violated not only the Librarianship Act’s requirement for qualified and licensed librarians to be employed in the government, but also the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. ADVERTISEMENTTotanes cited the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.’s knowledge and verification with the Professional Regulation Commission in saying Adriano was not authorized to practice librarianship. He added some of President Duterte’s appointees “do seem to be among ‘the best and the brightest,’” while the likes of Mocha Uson were not prohibited by law. ADVERTISEMENT

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 24, 2018 09:59 UTC