Año now officially DILG secretary

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, with his family behind him, takes oath of office before President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018. (Photo from Malacañang Palace)

Retired Gen. Eduardo Año, former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, has formally taken his oath as interior secretary months after serving officer-in-charge of the Deparment of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Año took his oath before President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang on Monday afternoon.

Duterte appointed Año on Jan. 4, 2018, replacing Catalino Cuy at the DILG.

The President did not immediately appoint Año as secretary of the DILG because it is prohibited under the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, or Republic Act No. 6975, which states that “no retired or resigned military officer or police official may be appointed as Secretary within one year from the date of his retirement or resignation.”

After his retirement, Año was appointed on Oct. 26, 2017 as DILG undersecretary, who retired from military service also on the same day after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56.

On the same day, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles also took his oath before the President in Malacañang. /atm

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, with his family behind him, takes his oath of office before President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018. (Photo from Malacañang Palace)