Aquino, Duterte prepare transition teams
DAVAO CITY -- A six-man team has been designated by Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to meet with the current administration to prepare for and ensure a smooth transition into his presidency, which officially starts when he takes oath on June 30.
Philippines Presidential frontrunner and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he is interviewed by reporters at a hotel in Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao on May 9, 2016. -- AFP Photo / Noel Celis
They are: outgoing Maribojoc, Bohol Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr., who stood as Mr. Duterte’s campaign manager and previously served as his chief-of-staff for more than a decade; Christopher “Bong” T. Go, executive assistant and assistant campaign manager; Carlos G. Dominguez, a former cabinet member, businessman with diverse ventures, and a childhood friend who headed the campaign finance committee; Peter T. Lavina, spokesperson and a former Davao City councilor; and Salvador C. Medialdea and Loreto C. Ata, his personal lawyers.
“The transition team will meet with the Palace (Malacanang) people to discuss the transition. I hope everything will go smoothly since the Palace has acknowledged the victory of the mayor,” Mr. Lavina told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview.
On the part of Malacanang, an administrative order is now being prepared for the creation of a transition team that will be headed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr.
“I talked to Mr. Bong Go yesterday (Tuesday) to relay to Mayor Duterte that an Administrative Order (AO) is being drafted designating the Executive Secretary as head of the transition team,” said President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in a statement issued by the Presidential Communications Operations Office on Wednesday.
“I further offered that the Cabinet stands ready to brief his team on any and all of their concerns. Lastly we are committed to effecting the smoothest transition possible,” said Mr. Aquino, who towards the end of the campaign period delivered strong messages against voting for Mr. Duterte.
CONGRESS SUPPORT
Meanwhile, Mr. Lavina said the inaugural speech of Mr. Duterte will, among other things, call on Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention (ConCon) for a shift to parliamentary or federal form of government and introduce policy adjustments.
“The first immediate act of presumptive president Duterte is to gather Congress and ask for a ConCon as it is a more democratic manner in shifting the type of government,” Mr. Lavina said.
Mr. Duterte also plans to propose changes in the foreign ownership ratio and aligning the country’s foreign policy with its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in view of the ASEAN Economic Community.
“The changes will also include provisions in the country’s economic and foreign relations, which has previously been anchored largely on military and trade relations,” Mr. Lavina said.
“We will be overhauling the government system itself. It will affect everyone, even their self-serving interests,” he added.
Mr. Lavina said they are optimistic that these proposals will not cause division in Congress, which is still dominated by the Liberal Party and UNA.
“By experience, all members of Congress traditionally wants to be with the President. The other thing is marami talagang (there really are many) politicians na balimbing (who are turncoats). Our party system is more about convenience during elections, after that, it’s gone,” he said.
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=aquino-duterte-prepare-transition-teams&id=127340
--with Carmelito Q. Francisco, Maya M. Padillo and Imee Charlee C. Delavin
