Palace: Return of ex-officials as Cabinet appointees ‘not unusual’

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said on Saturday, May 21, that the return of former officials and appointees in the Cabinet of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte should not come as a surprise, as this practice is not unusual.

Observers noted that some names in Duterte’s Cabinet selections had served under the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Among them are former press secretary Jesus Dureza, who was offered to head the Mindanao peace process, former Cabinet secretary Silvestre Bello III as the new point person for the peace process with communist rebels, and ex-Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chief Alfonso Cusi, now Duterte’s pick for energy secretary.

Former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro had also been asked to return to his old Cabinet post, but Teodoro said that he would think about it.

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said in an interview with state-run dzRB on Saturday that in past presidencies, there were officials who had been tapped to serve again.

Coloma even cited himself as an example. He said that he had served under 3 presidents – Corazon Aquino, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and outgoing President Benigno Aquino III.

“Kaya’t hindi naman kakaiba ‘yung pangyayari na mayroong mga datihan nang naglingkod, inanyayahan muli at tatanggapin nilang muli iyon (That’s why it’s not unusual to have those who had served before to be invited again and for them to accept the invitation again),” he said.

He also mentioned the advantages of having experienced people in the Cabinet. “I think we’d understand that it is valuable to have previous experience and the knowledge which one will bring to the position, versus those who have yet to enter public service. There is some level of learning curve in the latter case,” he said in Filipino.

Transition

Meanwhile, Coloma also shared details about his meeting with the incoming presidential spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Panelo.

Coloma said he has given Panelo a background on the important aspects and duties of a communications secretary. He also acknowledged that Panelo already has experience in interacting with the media, citing the coverage of the lawyer’s previous court cases.

As for changes that might happen in the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) which Coloma heads, he said he’ll leave it up to Panelo to announce his plans.

When he assumed office, Aquino issued Executive Order No. 4 reorganizing and renaming the Office of the Press Secretary as the PCOO. It assumed supervision of public information agencies under the OPS such as PTV4 and the Philippine Information Authority, and the Philippines News Agency, among others.

EO 4 also created the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), primarily tasked with messaging, initially headed by Ricky Carandang.

Duterte said in In a recent interview with the Sun.Star group that his administration would not have a press secretary; only a press office and a presidential spokesperson. This raised questions on what would become of the PCOO and the PCDSPO, and who would oversee the PCOO-attached agencies. – Michael Bueza/Rappler.com