Lawmaker questions National Library director's appointment

MANILA, Philippines — The director of the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) faced questions again on Friday, September 20, regarding the legality of his appointment since he is not a licensed librarian. 

In 2017, Cesar Gilbert Adriano was appointed as NLP’s director by former President Rodrigo Duterte. When people discovered he had no license, complaints and criticisms hounded him, saying the appointment violated Republic Act 9246 or the Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003. 

Under Section 31, the law states that “only qualified and licensed librarians shall be employed as librarians in all government libraries.” 

During the plenary debates on the cultural agency’s proposed 2025 budget on Friday, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) reminded lawmakers that the head of a national library should meet this qualification. 

The budget sponsor, Rep. Christopher de Venecia (Pangasinan, 4th District), explained the law does not include a provision detailing the requirements specific to the executive or director of the National Library. 

“There is nothing in RA 9246 stating that the sitting executive or director of the National Library must be a licensed librarian. However, as we mentioned earlier, librarian positions should require a licensed librarian,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino. 

RELATED: National Library director: No law mandates that I must be a licensed librarian

Brosas then referenced a 2016 Civil Service Commission (CSC) hiring announcement for Director IV at the NLP, outlining the required education and experience to apply. 

These were the qualifications listed in the post:

“So it is clear in our Civil Service regulations that the NLP or Director IV position requires a licensed librarian,” Brosas said in Filipino.

Venecia argued the 2016 post was actually corrected by NLP’s human resource division later on, prior to Adriano’s appointment in 2017.

However, Brosas countered by saying the CSC should be the one to clarify the qualifications, as it is the agency responsible for establishing the standards for government personnel.

“You mentioned earlier that your policies are in compliance. The NLP cannot decide on the qualifications.