Cusi gets DOE; Calida is solicitor general

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte has named former Manila International Airport Authority general manager Alfonso Cusi secretary of the Department of Energy, and former justice undersecretary Jose Calida as solicitor general.

Presidential spokesman-designate Salvador Panelo made the announcements in a phone interview yesterday.

“They were chosen because they passed the criteria set by …president (Duterte), which is integrity and competence,” Panelo said. “They know the problems they’ll handle and they are capable of addressing those problems.” 

Cusi is vice chairman of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), the political party of Duterte.

He was accused of buying votes for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to secure a fresh six-year term in the 2004 presidential race.  

In 2011, a former Shariah Circuit judge accused Cusi of instructing him to distribute millions of pesos supposedly to ensure that Arroyo would win in Mindanao.

A close friend of Arroyo’s husband Jose Miguel, Cusi has denied the allegation.

Cusi was also chief of the Philippine Ports Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines during the Arroyo administration.

Calida served as executive director of the Dangerous Drugs Board and justice undersecretary during the Arroyo presidency. 

Meanwhile, tax lawyer Jesus Clint Aranas is among those being eyed to head the Bureau of Internal Revenue, a source from the Duterte camp said yesterday.

“For BIR, (Duterte) is considering Clint,” the source told The STAR.

However, nothing is final and Duterte has yet to make an official announcement, the source added.

Aranas is national treasurer of PDP-Laban and national officer of the Duterte campaign group.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Commerce, major in Business Administration, from the Philippine School of Business Administration, and his Bachelor of Laws from Silliman University.

Aranas worked as a legal assistant to then senator Raul Roco.

He eventually moved to SGV & Co. (Ernst & Young), where he received extensive exposure in tax and corporate consultancy.

He is a director in various companies, including Japanese multinational corporations, according to his profile.

He grew up in Negros and came from a very laid back family, Aranas said.

On the other hand, the search for the person to head the Bureau of Customs is still ongoing.

Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina said he is not applying to be retained.

“If I will be appointed I will serve at the pleasure of the President,” he said.

“If he asks me to serve, I will serve. I think I have been known to (almost) I think everybody. What else do I have? My record will speak for myself. It is up to the president.”

“To me that is destiny,” he said. “They have a search committee. If by God’s grace I would be included there, let it be.”

He hopes that the new commissioner would be competent and honest if Duterte decides to replace him, he added.

Smoother project implementation

Meanwhile, outgoing Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson told incoming Secretary Mark Villar to establish better coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for smoother project implementation.

In an interview over dzMM radio, Singson said he has been briefing Villar.

He is a good friend of Villar’s parents, he added.

Singson said the Department of Public Works and Highways could not go full blast in the implementation of its projects because it was unable to gain support from other concerned government agencies like the Department of  Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the MMDA.

Singson said it would serve Villar best to have a good working relationship with the DOTC and MMDA if he does not want to experience hitches or delays in the completion of projects in Metro Manila. 

“It is critical that you establish good coordination with the MMDA and the DOTC because you are interdependent,” he said.

“For instance, if there is a particular project that you want to be done, but if the MMDA would not give you a permit then what can you do, you would not be able to execute (the project).”  

Singson said it would also be favorable to Villar if the local governments would be cooperative.

He has often requested local governments to ask barangay chairmen not to let vendors occupy sidewalks because this would only prompt pedestrians to use the lanes allocated for vehicles.

He has assured Villar that he would be working with decent professionals at the DPWH.

DPWH officials are career officials not coterminous with Singson.

Before he steps down on June 30, he hopes the two major flood control projects in Metro Manila – Blumentritt Interceptor and Maysilo Circle in Mandaluyong City – would be completed, Singson said.

Implement the law

The incoming Duterte Cabinet must be prepared to implement the law and protect the Constitution, according to former national treasurer Leonor Briones.

“Cabinet officials are charged with the difficult task of implementing policies and programs of the government,” she said.

“They are tasked with the actual delivery of services. As such, they are expected to be professionals who are preferably experts in the assigned tasks of their respective departments.“ Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines, said it would also be helpful if their respective constituencies accept them.

“It must be recognized that the Commission on Appointments will have the final say in appointments. Finally, it will be wise to ensure regional and gender balance in the Cabinet,” she said.

“The declaration of amnesty and the grant of at least four key government Cabinet positions to the Communist Party of the Philippines will only be legitimate after the successful conduct of negotiations for amnesty. It is expected that there will be conditions from either side.”  – With Danessa Rivera, Iris Gonzales, Evelyn Macairan, Rhodina Villanueva