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“Reliable insiders revealed that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. – who also heads the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission – is set to take over the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) helm for one month while President Noynoy Aquino looks for a permanent replacement for Mar Roxas,” reports Delon Porcalla in The Philippine Star.
The report pointed out: “It may be recalled that Ochoa was designated DILG chief in August 2012 following the death of secretary Jesse Robredo in a plane crash off Masbate after attending an official event in Cebu City.”
Sources hinted that Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento – the Liberal Party secretary-general who is close to Roxas – may not be able take over the DILG post as the last-term congressman reportedly plans to run for governor next year.
In any case, “there have also been reports that former Pangasinan Rep. and Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza or current DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero – a career official – may take over the DILG post.”
Photo: News clip
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