Duterte drops 3 more fraternity brothers in DOJ

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has replaced three more fraternity brothers holding key posts in the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ announced yesterday that the President has accepted the courtesy resignations of Undersecretaries Raymund Mecate, Erickson Balmes and Reynante Orceo after their Lex Talionis fraternity brother, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, resigned last April.

Mecate, Balmes and Orceo joined the DOJ in 2016 along with Aguirre.

The President has appointed lawyers Adrian Sugay, Mark Parete and Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, a former party-list representative and wife of Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, as new DOJ undersecretaries.

Duterte also accepted the resignation of Assistant Secretary Juvy Manwong and designated lawyer Neal Vincent Bainto as replacement.

All four new appointees were recommended by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Villar, daughter of former Philippine National Police chief Edgar Aglipay, obtained her law degree from the University of the Philippines where she joined the prestigious Order of the Purple Feather Honors Society.

Perete worked as lawyer of multinational company Coca Cola and taught law subjects in several universities. Also a product of the UP College of Law, he has served as assistant secretary for legal affairs at the Office of the President.

Sugay and Bainto, on the other hand, were graduates of Ateneo law school. Sugay has years of experience in litigation and served as special assistant to the corporate head of the Philippine Ports Authority, while Bainto was senior associate in the Villaraza and Angangco law offices.