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MANILA, Philippines – Manuel Roxas II will not yet be stepping down as secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), even after he was anointed by President Benigno Aquino III as the Liberal Party’s standard-bearer for the 2016 elections.
“At some point in time he will have to step down, but right now the important thing is he has to transition the department and there are a number of programs and services that he wants to make sure would be properly transitioned,” Presidential Spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda told Rappler hours before Aquino endorsed Roxas on Friday, July 31.
Roxas took over the DILG in 2013 after the tragic death of the department’s former chief, Jesse Robredo. Prior to being head of the DILG, Roxas was Aquino’s transportation secretary. (READ: Mar Roxas: The long road to endorsement)
Among the programs that Roxas will “properly transition” to his successor before he steps down, Lacierda said, was the distribution of new police patrol jeeps to different provinces in the Philippines. The past few months, Roxas has been visiting provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to personally turn over more than 1,000 patrol vehicles acquired by the Philippine National Police (PNP) recently.
The patrol jeeps are distributed to municipalities, particularly those that are unable to purchase their own through town funds.
Roxas has a short list of possible replacement but has not yet discussed it with the President, Lacierda said.
The DILG secretary is also the chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), which has administrative oversight of the police force. The police is mandated to stay neutral in elections.
Lacierda was quick to dismiss allegations that Roxas would be using his Cabinet position to further his 2016 bid. “I think that’s a matter of public record. There are no government finances involved. His role to distribute patrol jeeps is part of his mandate,” he said.
“That’s the reason why [Roxas] realizes that upon being endorsed and being declared, at some point he has to step down and that’s something he’s very very conscious of. But again we have to make sure that the programs and services of the DILG should not be disrupted as he transitions from a secretary of the Cabinet to a standard-bearer,” added Lacierda. – Rappler.com
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