I remember presumptive President-elect Digong telling me during a break in the heat of the campaign that if elected, he would dispense with the protocol of being sworn into office.
Protocol calls for the Chief Justice to administer the oath of office to the incoming President.
Digong told me he would rather be sworn in without all the fanfare by a barangay chair or village chief.
The nonconformist and maverick Digong can keep his word by getting barangay chair Mar Masanguid of Agdao District in Davao City to do the honors.
“Kap” Masanguid was the first to suggest on his radio program on dxOW that Digong run for President, long before the Davao City mayor was on the radar.
Masanguid started a signature campaign among his constituents urging the mayor to run for President.
It would be a fitting tribute to Masanguid if he gets to swear in the next President of the Republic.
It would be a first; it would be historic.
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Why is it legal for a barangay chair to administer the oath of office to the new President?
The barangay is our basic political unit of government.
Just like the President of the Republic, a barangay chair is elected at large by his constituents.
Since Digong Duterte is a populist or people-oriented official, he will stress the importance of the humble barangay in the affairs of the national government by being sworn into office by Kap Masanguid.
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President Digong’s decision to appoint Salvador Panelo as presidential spokesperson and reelected Rep. Mark Villar as public works secretary was not well-thought-out.
Panelo is adversarial to the press, both in countenance and demeanor.
First, a presidential spokesperson should be pleasant-looking because he’s called upon to talk to reporters in front of the TV camera.
Second, Panelo’s antics and the outlandish knickknacks he wears on his person will make him a laughingstock which will reflect on Duterte.
Digong should rethink his decision if he wants to get along with the press in the vital first six months of his administration.
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Mark Villar was probably chosen by the presumptive President-elect as part of a horse trade with Mark’s parents, former Senate President Manny and Sen. Cynthia Villar.
But Digong probably failed to consider that the Villars are real estate developers.
Mark’s appointment as public works and highways secretary would be a conflict of interest as all the roads and highways might lead to Camella Homes and the Villars’ other subdivisions.
Senator Manny was rejected by the people in the 2010 presidential election, some say, because of the C-5 Road extension project controversy.
He was accused of influencing the Department of Public Works and Highways into having two road projects—the C-5 Road extension and Las Piñas-Paranaque Link—built near his corporation’s real estate properties.
Besides, appointing Mark Villar to Digong’s Cabinet will deprive the people of Las Piñas of representation in Congress.