MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte will appoint an acting foreign secretary on Thursday, March 9, after the Commission on Appointments rejected the appointment of Perfecto Yasay Jr.

“An Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs will be designated and appointed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella on Wednesday, March 8.

“The Office of the Executive Secretary will communicate with the Department of Foreign Affairs by 8 am tomorrow, 09 March 2017,” Abella added.

DFA Spokesperson Charles Jose said that in the meantime, the DFA “will ensure that the transition will go smoothly and that the DFA continues to carry out its work effectively.”

Yasay failed to get the nod of the powerful CA after giving conflicting statements about whether or not he had once been a United States citizen.  (READ: U.S citizen before? Yasay refuses to say yes or no)

The CA voted unanimously to reject his appointment. Based on CA rules, Duterte cannot reappoint Yasay, his good friend and former dorm mate.

But from the start of his presidency, Duterte had been clear that Yasay’s appointment would be temporary since he intended to appoint his former running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, as foreign secretary.

Cayetano will only be eligible to take the post in May after the lapse of the one year ban on appointing candidates in the 2016 national elections.

In the previous administration, when then Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo took an indefinite leave in February 2011, Foreign Undersecretary Linda Basilio served as acting foreign secretary for about a week, or until Albert del Rosario took over.  – Rappler.com