Palace: Diño not yet appointed to DILG, other gov't agencies

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday said President Rodrigo Duterte has not appointed former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chair Martin Diño to the Department of the Interior and Local Government or any other government agencies a day after his exit from the SBMA.

“As of this date, the President has not appointed Mr. Martin Diño to any position in the DILG or in any instrumentality of government,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

Diño was quoted in reports as saying that he was summoned by the Palace and was offered a job in the DILG as the agency’s undersecretary for barangay affairs.

This was after Duterte appointed lawyer Wilma Eisma as SBMA’s chairperson and administrator for a term expiring on June 30, 2022.

READ: Duterte merges 2 top Subic Bay posts in new order

The president appointed Eisma after signing an executive order that consolidated the powers of SBMA’s administrator and chairperson.

Duterte earlier designated Eisma as SBMA administrator in December last year—stripping Diño of the position that he held concurrently as chairman of the agency. The two leadership positions caused a power struggle between Diño and top SBMA officials, including Deputy Administrator Randy Escolango.

Diño created a stir within the agency after he claimed that his appointment as chairman made him concurrent SBMA administrator.

This prompted Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra to step in and appoint Escolango, a lawyer, as officer-in-charge, following Roberto Garcia’s resignation as SBMA administrator.

Diño was the presidential candidate of PDP-Laban during the last elections until he was replaced at the last minute by Duterte, who was then Davao City mayor.