More Duterte men join Bongbong Marcos admin: Bello to MECO, Nograles to CSC

Silvestre Bello III (left) and Karlo Nograles (right)

MANILA, Philippines — President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos named Thursday outgoing labor chief Silvestre Bello III as Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) chair and former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as Civil Service Commission (CSC) chair.

Both Bello and Nograles have been part of the current Duterte administration, which, at midday on June 30, will come to an end.

Marcos Jr. picked Bello to head the MECO, the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan. It performs consular functions and is tasked with the duty of protecting and promoting the well-being of Philippine nationals in Taiwan.

Bello currently serves as the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment. Before this, he served as Cabinet Secretary of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2004-2010 and a congressman from 2013-2016.

Meanwhile, Marcos Jr. also re-nominated Nograles to chair the CSC.

In March, Duterte appointed Nograles to lead the CSC, but the powerful Commission on Appointments bypassed Nograles’ confirmation as CSC chief.

Nograles previously served as a representative of Davao City’s 1st district.

He then served as Duterte’s Cabinet Secretary and spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

KGA/abc