Duterte appoints new SC justice; Arroyo’s lawyer, retired military general to posts

July 13, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres  Reyes Jr. as the new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Duterte named six other individuals, including the lawyer of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a former military general, to different posts in government. According to the appointment paper, which the President signed on July 12, Reyes replaced Bienvenido Reyes who reached the retirement age of 70 on July 6, 2017. Duterte also named retired Maj. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario as the chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council. Del Rosario succeeded Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco who became the acting HUDCC chairman after Vice President Leni Robredo resigned when Duterte told her not to attend anymore the Cabinet meeting due to "irreconcilable differences" last year. He was the executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck most parts of the country in November 2013. Arroyo's lawyer Raul Lambino was appointed as the administrator and chief executive officer, with a Cabinet rank, of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, replacing Jose Mari Ponce. Duterte also designated Ghazali Jaafar as Amirul Hajj for the 2017 Hajj Mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Jaafar is the vice chairman for political affairs of the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front and chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, which drafted the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be submitted to Duterte early next week. Duterte also appointed Eric Distor as Director III of the National Bureau of Investigation, replacing Rolando Argabioso; and Walter Besas as deputy executive director of the Dangerous Drugs Board, vice Amador Pabustan. (Celerina Monte/DMS)