MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte tapped a retired Muslim soldier as “presidential adviser on local extremist groups concerns.”

He signed the appointment of Yusop Jimlani to the post on Thursday, December 6. Malacañang released the documents to the public on Monday, December 10.

Jimlani will have the rank of undersecretary under the Office of the President, reads the appointment paper.

Jimlani had worked with Duterte before as deputy commander of Task Force Davao, a joint military and police unit created to ensure security in Davao City. The task force had then been led by Colonel Alan Luga.

In the task force, Jimlani, according to a Philippine Information Agency article, “was mainly responsible for uniting the majority of the Muslim leaders in Davao into an association that works for their own welfare and as a citizens’ arm for peace and unity.”

He had also been a military intelligence officer and a former aide de camp of the late president Corazon Aquino. – Rappler.com