DAVAO CITY—A former Agriculture secretary and close friend of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte had a change of heart Thursday and accepted the post as Finance secretary after initially turning down the post.
Carlos Dominguez III, who headed the finance committee of Duterte’s presidential campaign, had been one of the first to be offered a job in the new president’s Cabinet, but had turned it down “for personal reasons.”
A member of Duterte’s transition team, Dominguez last week presented the incoming government’s eight-point economic agenda.
Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s designated press secretary, gave no reason for Dominguez’s change of heart.
Also named Thursday to the Cabinet was lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II, who was tapped to head the Justice Department.
Confirming that he had accepted the post, Aguirre vowed to give priority to cases involving illegal drugs and corruption when he takes over the department in July.
“We will spare no one; we will investigate regardless of who is involved,” he said.
Aquirre also vowed to clean up the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, which has been embroiled in scandals involving illegal drugs and special treatment for influential inmates.
He said Duterte had already given him several instructions, but they have yet to discuss specifics.
Among the cases pending with the Justice Department are criminal charges against 90 commanders and members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups tagged in the death of Special Action Force commandos during the Mamasapano clash in January last year.
The department is also conducting a preliminary investigation on the money laundering case stemming from the $80.9-million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank and laundered to the country.
State prosecutors immediately welcomed the imminent appointment of Aguirre.
Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said Aguirre’s appointment would be “a very positive move.”
“Attorney Aguirre has a vast experience in the practice of law and is an esteemed member of the bar and respected in the legal profession. We are elated to hear his appointment and we will give him our wholehearted support in his plans and programs to enhance the delivery of justice to our people,” Arellano said, in a text message to reporters.
Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas said he respects the decision of Duterte to appoint Aguirre as his replacement.
“Whoever is chosen as the next secretary of Justice, all I have for him are my very best wishes for a fruitful stint—all in the name of service to the Filipino people,” he said.
Aguirre, who was head of Duterte’s legal team during the campaign, was a classmate and fraternity brother of the incoming president at the San Beda College law school.
He graduated on top of his class and passed the bar exams in 1971 as one of the top notchers with a rating of 85.25 percent.
His father, the late municipal Mayor Alfaro Aguirre, was chairman of the Liberal Party for nearly 40 years.
Aguirre became prominent when he served as lead counsel of Hubert Webb in the Vizconde massacre.
Aguirre was also deputy counsel for the Feliciano Commission’s fact-finding investigation on the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 where he conducted the direct examinations of now Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and other mutineers who participated in a failed takeover of a Makati City.
In 2012, he was one of the private prosecutors tapped in the impeachment trial of the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
He earned the ire of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago during the hearings when he covered his ears over the senator’s “shrill voice.”
Meanwhile, priest-turned-mayor Leoncio Evasco Jr., who shaped Duterte’s national campaign, declined to serve as his Interior secretary.
“To be nominated or shortlisted for the secretary of Interior and Local Government would be a great honor for me, since not all will be given the chance to lead the department,” Evasco said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“But I would like to clarify that I am not, and will not be interested [in] any Cabinet post. I will always be grateful for the offer, and I will always serve our newly elected president and the Filipino people in some other way, base on my capacity and skills,” he added.
He said he would remain available to help Duterte in a low-key capacity wherever his skills and capacities would be applicable.