Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo has confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte is eyeing Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles as the next Cabinet Secretary (CabSec).
“He is one of those being considered,” Panelo said in a Palace press briefing when asked to confirm Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s remark that Nograles is the next CabSec.
“The announcement will be made by the President himself as to the other members of the Cabinet who will replace those who filed their certificates of candidacy,” Panelo said.
Leoncio Evasco Jr. stepped down as Cabinet Secretary to run for Bohol governor in the 2019 midterm polls.
Other officials in the Duterte administration who have resigned to seek elective posts in next year’s polls include former Presidential Political Adviser Francis Tolentino, former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Bong Go, former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Guiling Mamondiong, former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and former Bureau of Corrections Director Bato dela Rosa.
“The announcement will be made by the President himself.”
Go, Tolentino, Dela Rosa and Roque are seeking Senate seats while Mamondiong is gunnig for the gubernatorial post of Lanao del Sur. Cayetano meanwhile is seeking a House seat representing Taguig City.
The President has appointed former Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Isidro Lapeña as the new TESDA chief while Teodoro Locsin Jr., the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations, replaced Cayetano at the DFA. Former BOC chief Nicanor Faeldon meanwhile took over as new BuCor chief.
The Chief Executive has yet to appoint his new political adviser and special assistant.
