Front-running presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte smiles during a news conference shortly after voting in a polling precinct at Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School, Matina district, his hometown in Davao city, southern Philippines Monday, May 9, 2016. Duterte was the last to vote among five presidential hopefuls. AP File Photo
The camp of presumptive President and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has created six clusters in their transition team to start the selection of potential Cabinet members.
In a televised press briefing on Friday, Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesperson, said their transition team has been divided into six clusters.
READ: Duterte creates ‘transition committee’
“To hasten the process of doing our task, we divided our work into six clusters that are now existing in the Cabinet, namely social development, security, economic development, justice, infrastructure and the GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations),” Laviña said.
Members of the transition team who will head each cluster are:
- Social development: Leoncio “Jun” Evasco Jr., national campaign head and Maribojoc, Bohol mayor
- Peace and security: Christopher “Bong” Go, executive assistant and campaign sortie manager
- Economic development: Carlos Dominguez III, businessman and campaign finance manager
- Judiciary: Atty. Salvador Medialdea
- GOCCs: Atty. Loreto Ata
- Infrastructure development: Peter Laviña
Laviña said the six clusters would “hasten the process of receiving, and we are receiving a list of nominees, suggestions of potential members of the Cabinet as well as a number of sub-Cabinet positions and head of various agencies.”
He said the criteria for selecting Cabinet members are shared vision, integrity, competence and ability and willingness to sacrifice.
Go quoted Duterte as saying those who would be appointed as head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police should be based on merits, on seniority and on loyalty to the government and the country.
Laviña said they were informed that the transition team of President Benigno Aquino III was already prepared.
READ: Aquino forms Palace transition team
“In fact, Executive Secretary (Paquito) ‘Jojo’ Ochoa is calling for a meeting of their group at 2 p.m. this afternoon. Unfortunately, none of us will be able to attend that meeting,” he said.
“We’re hoping to travel to Manila very soon so that we can meet our counterparts and get a feel of the necessary steps to take the smooth transition of power in the next administration,” Laviña added.
Laviña thanked the Aquino administration for their “immediate responses.”
“This would again show to the country the willingness of the outgoing and incoming administrations to work together,” he said.
“The country needs national unity so that we can show to the country that we can rise above partisan politics that has just been over less than a week. But we were able to immediately so-called bury the hatchet and we are ready to roll up our sleeves to work together,” Laviña added. RAM/rga