President Rodrigo Duterte said he will no longer appoint an “outsider” to positions in the executive which will be vacated during the remainder of his term.
In his public address, the President said he will only appoint an organic officer who is second highest in rank to take over.
“My policy is I do not take outsiders anymore. Whoever is second in command in that office or department, he will take over,” he said in a prerecorded public address.
“No more outsiders so that it’s easier. Those who really know the job are those working permanently there,” he added.
The President made the remarks two days after Dr. Eric Domingo resigned as FDA director-general on Monday. Duterte named Dr. Oscar Gutierrez as FDA officer-in-charge.
“Anyway, in the coming new administration, they will go back to the chain. So Dr. Oscar, he will be the one to give the report, he is the OIC,” he added.
The FDA establishes safety or efficacy standards and quality measures for foods, drugs and devices and cosmetics, and other health products.
Malacañang on Friday meanwhile offered its condolences to the family of National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose who passed away at the age of 97.
The National Press Club of the Philippines also extended its sympathy over the passing of Jose. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) described Jose’s writings since the late ‘60s as “epic”.
The commission highlighted that his five-novel masterpiece, the Rosales saga, captured the “sweep of Philippine history while simultaneously narrating the lives of generations of the Samsons whose personal lives intertwine with the social struggles of the nation.”
According to the NCCA, Jose was also a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues, and the founder of the Philippine chapter of the international organization PEN.
Among Jose’s awards were the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999; the Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for Literature in 1998; and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1980.
The Philippine government named Jose as National Artist for Literature in 2001.
Jose died on Thursday night at the Makati Medical Center where he was supposed to undergo an angioplasty.