MARCOS TAPS ACOSTA AS NPO CHIEF

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed veteran journalist and book author Renato Acosta as the new head of the National PrintingOffice (NPO), an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). Acosta’s designation as the new director of the government’s official printing arm was announced Saturday by the Office of Press Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil. He will replace Carlos Bathan.

Acosta is a fellow of the East-West Center in Washington DC (EWCW) and an alumnus of the US State Department’s premier professional exchange program International Visitor Leadership Program.

As a Philippine-based journalist, Acosta contributed stories and analyses on domestic and regional issues for renowned international think tanks, such as the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and Oxford Analytica in the United Kingdom.

He had also written and edited stories for the online portal of the US Pacific Command’s Asia Pacific Defense Forum (now Indo-Pacific Forum) and United States Naval Research Institute News.

DIVISORIA GOODS. Buyers choose from good shoes and bags sold at cheap prices at Divisoria Market in Manila on Saturday.

Lino Santos

Traffic Gridlock Starts In Edsa Due To Repairs

By Joel E. Zurbano

MOTORISTS have started experiencing traffic gridlock along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue due to the ongoing road repairs along the stretch of EDSA Bus Carousel Lane from Balintawak in Quezon City to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) earlier urged motorists to use the Mabuhay Lanes to avoid heavy traffic. The Mabuhay Lanes are the alternate routes designated for private vehicles to avoid congested main roads in the National Capital Region.