Evasco back in Duterte government

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has named his former Cabinet secretary and campaign manager Leoncio Evasco Jr. as presidential adviser on streamlining of government processes, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte signed Evasco’s appointment papers last Nov. 24, paving the way for the return of the President’s trusted adviser to the government after two years. The post was given the rank of secretary.

“PA (presidential adviser) Evasco is not new in the Duterte administration, having served as Cabinet secretary in the early years of the current administration. His familiarity with the present bureaucracy would contribute greatly in his new task of streamlining government processes in the executive. Welcome back, PA Evasco,” Roque said in a statement.

A former Bohol town mayor and rebel priest, Evasco served as Cabinet secretary of Duterte from 2016 to 2018.

He ran for governor of Bohol in 2019 but lost to Arthur Yap, an ally of Duterte and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In 2018, Evasco had a tiff with National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Jason Aquino over the manner of importing rice to avert a shortage of the staple.

Evasco, then the NFA Council chairman, preferred that rice imports be done through private bidding, putting him at odds with NFA management, which favored government-to-government deals.