CA confirms 2 Duterte Cabinet members

The body unanimously gave its nod to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año and Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista. (File photo: DILG Philippines/Facebook)

The Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed the appointments of two members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet on Wednesday, February 6.

The body unanimously gave its nod to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año and Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista.

Año took his oath as DILG  chief in November 2018, several months after he served as the department’s officer-in-charge (OIC).

The former military chief assumed the DILG’s top post after the Republic Act (RA) No. 6975, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, which bars retired or resigned military officers from being appointed as Secretary within one year from the date of his retirement or resignation expired.

The DILG chief, who is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1983, retired from military service on October 26, 2017.

Meanwhile, Bautista was appointed by Duterte as DSWD chief in October 2018.

The former army chief retired from military last October 2018. Prior to being appointed as commander of the Philippine Army, Bautista was the commander of Duterte’s Presidential Security Group (PSG).

Aside from Año and Bautista, the CA also confirmed the ad interim appointment of Aileen Lizada as Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as well as the appointment of five officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

These DFA officials are Noel Eugene Eusebio Mejico Servigon as ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ma. Teresita Cruz Daza as ambassador to Chile, Christopher Baltazar Montero as ambassador to Brunei, Ramon Bagatsing, Jr. as ambassador to India, and Noe Albano Wong as ambassador to Korea.

The CA also confirmed military officers including PMA Superintendent General Ronnie Evangelista and Marine Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino.