Public Lands undergoes revamp

Public Lands Secretary John S. Del Rosario yesterday announced the reorganization of his department.

A mining division has been added, while compliance has been separated from real estate. New officials have also been named.

The revamp will become effective today, Nov. 8, 2006.

Del Rosario appointed Ramon S. Salas to serve as the new deputy secretary of the Department of Public Lands. Salas was the land exchange manager of DPL’s predecessor, the defunct Marianas Public Land Authority.

Salas replaces Vincent T. Castro, who will now be technical adviser to the secretary and deputy secretary.

Del Rosario also appointed new directors: David Atalig for the Finance Division, Alvin C. Cepeda for Planning Division, John Gonzalez for the Mining Division, Pedro Itibus for the Land Claims Division, Raymond Cruz for the Compliance Division, and Jesse Palacios for the Real Estate Division.

Jerome Aldan will keep his post as director of the Homestead Division. Likewise, Margarita Salas will remain the chief of human resources.

“[Ramon S. Salas’] vast experience here has prepared him to assume greater responsibilities in his new role, ready to push for major improvements in the revenue generation end of the department’s operations. Basically, Mr. Salas will handle the daily affairs of the department,” Del Rosario said of his new deputy in a memorandum issued Monday.

As for Castro, he “will work directly with the deputy secretary and secretary to fast track the primary fiduciary responsibilities of the department. His wealth of experience and commitment to assist [and] meet the needs of our people will be a plus for DPL in our collective efforts to fulfill the constitutional mandates of the department,” Del Rosario said.

The DPL secretary also announced that most of the department employees had been converted to positions and salary scales under the civil service system.

Public Law 15-2, which replaced MPLA with DPL, mandated the conversion.

“The purpose of this reorganization is to get back the trust and confidence of the general public. When I first came here, people wanted to see nobody else except the secretary. We want to change that. That’s why we’re placing highly qualified people for the jobs. We’re putting people in areas where they can be most productive,” Del Rosario said in an interview.

[I]Photo caption: Secretary John S. Del Rosario, seated left, poses with officials of the newly revamped Department of Public Lands. With him are Deputy Secretary Ramon S. Salas, seated right, and, standing from left, Mining director John DLR Gonzales, Planning director Alvin C. Cepeda, hearing officer Ramon S. Dela Cruz, Finance director David DLG Atalig, Land Claims director Peter I. Itibus, Homestead director Jerome K. Aldan, Compliance director Raymond A. Cruz, and Real Estate director Jesse S. Palacios. (Agnes E. Donato)[/I]