Retired Assistant Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca-Santiago was recently elected president of a newly-organized group called Former DAR Employees Association (FODEA) in Cebu.
With an initial membership of 60, FODEA Cebu aims to share their capabilities with the community.
The group’s formation is a fulfillment of a vision of former DAR 7 regional director Frank Dinsay. Some months ago, Dinsay and Santiago met by chance in a restaurant in Talisay City, southern Cebu.
Dinsay urged Santiago, who had served as DAR 7 legal assistance division chief, to form an association of former DAR employees that envisions the regular holding of activities that would enable them to “relive the past, enjoy the present and enrich the future.”
Unfortunately, Dinsay died shortly after his meeting with Santiago.
Other elected officers of the FODEA Cebu are Buenaventura Pomida, vice president; Aida Gaviola, secretary; Lourdes Archua, treasurer; lawyer Vigilius Santiago Anatolio Alfar, press relations officers.
The Board of Trustees is composed of Paulino Tudlasan Jr., lawyer Linda Susan Baring, municipal agrarian reform officers Joselito Baylon, Teofilo Luchavez, Nicolas Managbanag, Eric Gaviola and Anesia Tudlasan.
FODEA chose Portia Aliño-Hormachuelos, retired Justice of the Court of Appeals, as its adviser.
Meanwhile, five Negrense lawyers who formerly held top positions in the DAR Adjudication Board and in the DAR 7 assured FODEA-Cebu that FODEA Negros Oriental will be organized soon.