Lawyer Dennis B. Funa has been appointed new Insurance Commissioner, making him the first appointee of President Duterte to sit in the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
The Insurance Commission on Friday said Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the appointment, just a day after Mr. Duterte again vented his ire against the AMLC for its supposed failure to cooperate with the administration in its war against illegal drugs.
In the AMLC, Funa will be sitting as an ex-officio member joining ex-officio chair and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. as well as ex-officio member and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Teresita J. Herbosa.
Funa replaced Emmanuel F. Dooc, who last month was appointed new president and chief executive of state-run pension fund Social Security System.
Prior to his appointment as Insurance Commissioner, Funa was deputy commissioner for legal services at the Insurance Commission, a post he held since 2013.
Funa is also currently an assistant professor at De La Salle University-College of Law and San Beda College Alabang-School of Law.
The new head of the insurance industry regulator finished his undergraduate degree at De La Salle University, subsequently earning his Bachelor of Laws degree at the San Beda College of Law. He passed the Philippine Bar in 1992.
Funa has been “recognized as an authority on intellectual property law and constitutional law,” the Insurance Commission said.
He also authored several books on administrative law, intellectual property and international law. —BEN O. DE VERA