Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte is currently at his turf in Davao City where he is completing the list of people who will compose his Cabinet once he assumes office on June 30 this year.
Because Duterte is now in Davao City, many politicians seeking a post in the new administration have gone there during the past several days, with the hope of getting an audience with the president-in-waiting. Many of them used to be staunch critics of Duterte, or supported Duterte’s rivals for the presidency. Now that Duterte is incoming president, these opportunists have conveniently comported themselves as clandestine Duterte supporters. Hopefully, these opportunists will not get anywhere.
So far, a number of persons have been either appointed to the Cabinet, or invited to join the Duterte administration. Some of them have been welcomed outright by the public, while some have been criticized by concerned sectors.
Peter Laurel of the Lyceum University has been offered the post of Education secretary. Laurel is ideal for that post because he has the administrative experience and competence for the job, and his honesty and probity are unquestioned. As of this writing, however, Laurel has expressed disinterest in leaving the private sector.
Laurel would have been an asset to the Duterte administration. He comes from the illustrious Laurel family of Batangas. The Laurels are known to be very nationalistic and they detest corruption in public service.
One welcome appointment made by Duterte is that of Alfonso Cusi, a technocrat with extensive experience in the management of government agencies and corporations. Duterte has chosen him to head the Department of Energy.
An alumnus of De La Salle and the University of the Philippines, Cusi worked in the private sector for almost 20 years before he joined the national government.
Cusi’s first appointment was as general manager of the Philippine Ports Authority from 2001 to 2004. He was the spearhead of the road and sealane program linking Luzon with Mindanao, which was eventually called the roll-on/ roll-off program. This program still operates today, and has improved the land and maritime transportation of persons and goods in the country. There were no anomalies in the PPA reported during his term.
In 2004, Cusi became the general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, the agency in charge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It was during Cusi’s term when the Naia Terminal 3 opened and eased passenger and cargo traffic in the notoriously overcrowded airport complex. Unlike in the Naia today, the Naia during Cusi’s term had no bullet-in-the-baggage racket which harasses outgoing passengers. There were no protracted power outages, and ceilings did not suddenly collapse on the passengers. Foreigners who entered and left the Philippines by way of the Naia had almost nothing to complain about, and did not experience airport nightmares.
Later in 2010, Cusi became the director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. During his term, the status of Philippine aviation from the perspective of the European community improved significantly. In fact, Cusi succeeded in removing the Philippines from the watch list of international aviation scrutinizers. Less intense scrutiny from the international community meant a corresponding increase in the volume of trade and tourism in the country.
Cusi left the CAAP in December 2010, six months into the administration of President Benigno Aquino III so the latter could appoint people of his choice to important posts in his government. Soon enough, Cusi was back in private enterprise as the board chairman of a company with investments in shipping and food sales. Despite his accomplishments in government service, Cusi chose not to herald them.
As his track record attests, Cusi possesses uncommon skills in the management of government corporations, and he was successful in every government post he had held. Observers describe Cusi’s management style as an ideal combination of conservative prudence and a willingness to try modernist strategies. Duterte must have noticed Cusi’s track record sometime in the past, enough for Duterte to enlist Cusi as vice chairman of his political party, the PDP Laban, and to entrust Cusi with a sensitive post in his Cabinet.
On the other hand, objections from the public have resulted from two other appointments made by Duterte.
First is the appointment of Representative Mark Villar of the Villar-Aguilar political dynasty in Las Piñas City to the top post in the Department of Public Works and Highways. Critics stress that there is a manifest conflict of interest arising from his appointment, considering that his father, ex-Senator Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party, is a leading figure in the construction industry, and because his mother Cynthia is an incumbent senator who has the power to sponsor infrastructure projects.
The recent coalition signed by the NP, which is headed by Manny Villar, with Duterte’s political party, the PDP-Laban, already creates a conflict of interest problem for Manny Villar. His son Mark’s appointment to the public works portfolio aggravates that problem, and may end up compromising Duterte’s image as a crusader against corruption in government.
Second is the appointment of Salvador Panelo, a high-profile lawyer with many controversial clients, as Duterte’s spokesman and media bureau head. Panelo was once the lawyer of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the Maguindanao politician currently facing raps for his alleged involvement in the massacre of political opposition leaders and several journalists in his province. Panelo infuriated the media and the public when he insisted that the charges against his client were fabricated.
Critics say that Duterte, who comports himself as a staunch enemy of criminals and evil-doers, will have a credibility problem if his spokesman is closely identified by the public with someone accused of involvement in an infamous massacre. So far, many names in media are objecting to Panelo’s designation as the president’s spokesman.
