President Rodrigo Duterte transfered Undersecretary Emily Padilla from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), where she will join her former DILG colleague John Castriciones who has been named acting secretary.
Padilla is the last of three DILG undersecretaries who were transferred to another government office after clashing with the former DILG secretary, Ismael Sueno.
Sueno was fired by Mr. Duterte after Padilla, Castriciones and DILG Undersecretary Jesus Hinlo raised concerns about the purchase of firetrucks.
But DILG employees also subsequently accused the three undersecretaries of involvement in irregularities.
Padilla’s appointment to the DAR was dated Dec. 7 and was issued a few days after Castriciones was tasked to head the same department.
Hinlo was earlier named to the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Mr. Duterte also appointed his niece, Maria Fema Duterte, as a member of the Board of Trustees of Nayong Pilipino Foundation to serve the unexpired term of Joseph Anthony Quesada that will end on June 30, 2018.
Another Magdalo soldier is also joining the government.
Mr. Duterte appointed former Army Capt. Dante Langkit as a corporate executive officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).
Langkit will join two other former rebel soldiers in the Department of Transportation: Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo.
Gambala was earlier named director at the Office of Transportation Security, while Maestrecampo was appointed assistant director at the Caap.
Mr. Duterte also appointed Ariel Nepomuceno Assistant Commissioner at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), replacing Ericson Alcovendaz.
Nepomuceno was among those whom Sen. Panfilo Lacson implicated in his privilege speech on alleged massive, systemic corruption in the BOC.