Palace says Eisma chosen over Dino as SBMA head due to competence

September 28, 2017

Newly-appointed Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority head Wilma Eisma's competence has prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint her to the post.

This was what Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Thursday when asked why Duterte chose Eisma over Martin Dino, his partymate at the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)-Laban.

"I don’t have the official statement. But I’m sure one of the reasons is because of the apparent competence of the new administrator," Abella said in a press briefing.

Duterte has issued Executive Order No. 42, making the administrator and chairman of SBMA under one person. Before the EO, Dino was chairman and Eisma , administrator.

With different people handling the posts, squabbles occurred at SBMA.

Contrary to Dino's claim he would assume the post as an undersecretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Abella said as far as the Office of the Executive Secretary is concerned, there was no new appointment for Dino.

"As far as I know, apparently there was an incident where it was - it (DILG position) may have been offered. However, this was prior to the replacement (of him at SBMA)," he said.

Dino, then chairman of the Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption and member of the ruling PDP-Laban, filed a certificate of candidacy for president for the May 2016 elections. He was later substituted by Duterte as the party's standard bearer. Celerina Monte/DMS