House Speaker Sabino Anastacio announced during a session yesterday that President-elect Surangel Whipps Jr. has named Landisang Kotaro to be his Chief of Staff.
The announcement will make Ms. Kotaro- the current head of President-elect’s Transition Committee Secretariat- as the first woman to hold that position.
“I would like to announce to you that that we give a round of applause to Landisang that I’m sure all of you know that she raised the level of work here at House, which we all sought her assistance ,” Speaker Anastacio said.
“I like to tell you that President-elect Surangel Whipps Jr and Landisang came to see me on Friday and the President-elect requested, saying that he knows that she is an asset to the House of Delegates.”
Speaker then quoted President-elect Whipps as saying, “and it’s not easy for you to let her go , but I request Mr. Speaker that she be the bridge that connects the House to the Office of the President. Please allow me to take her as my Chief of Staff.”
President-elect Whipps did not immediately respond to requests for comments about Speaker Anastacio’s announcement.
According to Ms. Kotaro’s Linkedin profile, she is working as Senior Legal Researcher of the House of Delegates and in 2016 she was an adviser at the Permanent Mission of Palau to the United Nations.
Kotaro was one of Palau’s negotiators at the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) meeting at the UN in 2019.
She also holds a Master’s degree in Asia-Pacific Studies from National Chengchi University in Taiwan.
Last week, Whipps named Vice-President Elect J. Uduch Senior as his administration ’s incoming Minister of State.