PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. identified on Thursday, May 26, 2022, more individuals who will fill key government posts under his administration.
Marcos Jr. said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno will serve as the secretary of the Department of Finance.
Diokno has headed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) since 2016 before he was appointed as the BSP chief following the death of Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. in 2019.
Succeeding Diokno is Monetary Board member Felipe Medalla.
Medalla has been with the board since July 2011 under the administration of late President Benigno Aquino III.
President Rodrigo Duterte extended his term in the board in 2017.
Marcos Jr. said former University of the Philippines president Fred Pascual accepted his appointment as the secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.
He said he nominated SMC Tollways president and chief executive officer Manuel Bonoan as the head of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Davao del Norte Second District Representative Antonio Lagdameo Jr. will serve as the special assistant to the President.
Marcos Jr. said there were plenty of applicants especially for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (Bucor) posts and they are currently in the vetting process to fill these vital positions of his government.
He said he will conduct his first Cabinet meeting on July 1.
“I think we’ve made a good start. There is still a long way to go... the most important thing to me is to get the right people in the right place,” said Marcos Jr.
Marcos Jr. earlier announced that Vice President Elect Sara Duterte-Carpio will head the education department.
He also named lawyer Vic Rodriguez as his executive secretary, Cavite 7th District Representative and House Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla as the justice secretary, Philippine Competition Commission chief Arsenio Balisacan as the National Economic and Development Authority chief, Bienvenido Laguesma as secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment, Susan “Toots” Ople as secretary of the newly created Department of Migrant Workers and Lawyer, and vlogger Trixie Cruz-Angeles as press secretary. (SunStar Philippines)