President Rodrigo Duterte is considering Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles to be his next Cabinet secretary, the Palace said Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the lawmaker was among nominees eyed by Duterte to take over the post vacated by Leoncio Evasco Jr., who is running for Bohol governor in the 2019 midterm elections.
“He [Nograles] is one of those being considered. The announcement will be made by the President himself,” Panelo told a Palace press briefing Tuesday.
“Let’s just wait for the President to announce [it]. It’s the President’s call,” he added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier floated the idea that Nograles would soon become the Cabinet secretary.
Nograles, who originally planned to seek an elective post in the elections, dropped his Senate bid.
He is on his third and last term at the House of Representatives. His position, as Davao City member of Congress, is being eyed by the President’s son, former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte.
The Palace, meanwhile, stressed anew that the President would announce his new appointees after the observance of All Saints’ Day break.