2 Cabinet members get CA nod

MANILA, Philippines — Two members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet have been confirmed by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).

The CA unanimously approved on Wednesday the appointments of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año and Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista.

In sponsoring Año’s appointment, Senator Sonny Angara described the DILG chief as a “paragon of competence and bravery.”

“Hence, he is a worthy candidate to serve as Secretary of Interior and Local Government,” Angara said.

The CA also confirmed the ad interim appointment of Aileen Lourdes Abella Lizada as Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission, five officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and 43 military officials.

The five from the DFA are Noel Eugene Eusebio Mejico Servigon as ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Indonesia; Ma. Teresita Cruz Daza as ambassador to Chile; Christopher Baltazar Montero as ambassador to Brunei Darussalam; Ramon Bagatsing Jr. as ambassador to India; andNoe Albano Wong as ambassador to Korea.

The military officers confirmed by the CA include Philippine Military Academy Superintendent  General Ronnie Evangelista and Marine Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino, who was detained in 2016 over drug charges. /ee

READ: Court orders arrest of Marcelino