MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed another retired military official to take on a top post in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Major General Rene Glen Paje, who was former commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment of the Philippine Army during the Marawi siege, was appointed as the DSWD’s newest undersecretary on Friday, February 15.

Malacañang released his appointment paper Monday, February 18.

It will be reunion of sorts in the DSWD as Paje will again be working under the helm of now secretary Rolando Bautista, who was his commanding general in the 90,000-strong Philippine Army.

Bautista and Paje teamed up during the military operations to liberate Marawi in 2017. Back then, Bautista was the overall ground commander of troops who fought  extremists aligned with the Islamic State for 5 months.

After heading the elite Scout Rangers, Paje took on the role of deputy chief of staff for civil military operations (J7), which is the unit tasked with overseeing relations between civilians and the military.

Paje graduated from the Philippine Military Academy Sinagtala Class of 1986. His mistah or batchmates include current Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde and former PNP chief Ronald De la Rosa.

Paje’s appointment signals the entry of another military official in the department. His appointment comes after Duterte fired 3 DSWD undersecretaries in November 2018 to give Bautista a free hand in forming his own team. – Rappler.com