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Malacañang on Sunday announced what may be the full
extent of the Cabinet revamp earlier confirmed by
President Arroyo: Chief Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza as
the new press secretary starting June 16, and in his
place, newly retired Armed Forces chief of staff
Hermogenes Esperon Jr.
This was
revealed by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, who will turn
over his job to Dureza next month but will continue to
be presidential spokesman until he assumes his new post
as Monetary Board member on July 3.
“Now, with the concurrence of all concerned, I am
pleased to announce that Jess Dureza, currently the
presidential adviser on the peace process, will succeed
me effective June 16,” Bunye said, adding he had
recommended to the President that an “insider”—or
someone from within the Cabinet—is appointed to the
post.
He said
Dureza was given time to wind down his affairs at the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
(Opapp) and that he is still in Libya, “on the
invitation of Col. [Moammar] Khadafi’s son, Sail al
Islam, who has been brokering among Moro National
Liberation Front [MNLF] leaders to ensure enhanced
implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement with the MNLF.”
In his
message to the President, after he was offered the post,
Dureza said that he considers the appointment “as a
progression of my work and commitment for peace and
development, this time, perhaps, with a bigger, wider
platform.”
“I will
give it my best shot. I hope I can fit in the big shoes
Secretary Toting Bunye is leaving behind with
distinction,” Dureza told the President.
Aside
from being presidential peace adviser, Dureza is also
the Mindanao Super Region Development Champion and is
the country’s Signing Minister to the Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (Bimp-Eaga).
He
chaired the Mindanao Economic Development Council from
2001 to January 2006, as well as the government panel
negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Bunye
also announced the appointment of Esperon, who retired
from the Armed Forces on May 12, as the new presidential
peace adviser, an appointment that is expected to be
questioned by human-rights advocates and militant groups
who have blamed him for the extrajudicial killings in
the country.
“When I
advised Jun Esperon that I would be announcing his
appointment and he may have to cut short his vacation,
his reply, without batting an eyelash, was, ‘I am awed,
humbled by the big task. But the challenge is by
itself the incentive and the inspiration. I’m ready,
Sir,’” Bunye said.
With the announcement of these latest appointments,
Bunye said that at least on the part of the Cabinet,
‘the ‘revamp’ is complete,” putting to rest persistent
speculations that some Cabinet members would soon lose
their jobs to losing administration candidates in the
2007 senatorial elections.
Bunye
said that there will “definitely” be additional
announcements of new appointments but would involve
non-Cabinet positions.
“Will
there be any more additional announcements? Definitely.
The high-profile positions involved, however, are
non-Cabinet, but nevertheless very vital in helping
achieve the development programs of the administration,”
Bunye said.
The only
other Cabinet-rank appointment announced by Malacañang
is that of Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo as chairman
of the Civil Service Commission and in his place,
Presidential Adviser on New Government Centers Silvestre
Bello III, effective once Saludo’s appointment passes
through the Commission on Appointments. |
