Duterte names Cayetano as next DFA chief, Año as DILG head

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday appointed Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as Foreign Affairs Secretary and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año as the next Interior Secretary.

Duterte made the announcement at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 at a press conference before his departure to Cambodia.

“Dito sa (At the) [Department of Foreign Affairs], I remember I signed an appointment just before I left my room and I saw the name of Senator Cayetano. Itong hapon lang na ito (Just this afternoon),” he said.

The President’s announcement came a day after the appointment ban of defeated candidates in the May 2016 elections ended on May 9.

Undersecretary Enrique Manalo is the acting DFA chief after the ad interim appointment of Perfecto Yasay was unanimously rejected the Commission on Appointments.

DILG chief

Duterte ended speculations that defeated vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos would be the next chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The President introduced Año as the DILG chief during the press conference.

“You are now facing the next DILG Secretary,” he said.

He said he picked Año because he needed “somebody who knows the police by the fingertips of his hand.”

He said Año, who will retire on October 26, 2016, would have to finish his term before he assumes his new post.

Undersecretary Catalino Cuy is currently the acting DILG chief after former secretary Ismael Sueno was sacked over corruption allegations.