PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday revealed his plan to appoint retired military chief General Eduardo Año to become his "special assistant" for a year before the latter will assume the leadership of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 2018.
Duterte made the remark during the Armed Forces of the Philippines change of command ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The President said he was still keen to appoint Año, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 on October 26, as the next head of DILG.
Duterte first made the announcement about his plan for Año last May.
But the Local Government Act of 1990 bans the appointment of a retired or resigned military officer as Secretary of the agency within one year from the date of his retirement or resignation.
Duterte said Año, in the meantime, can serve as a Special Assistant to the President with a rank of Undersecretary, the same position currently assumed by Christopher Go.
"General Eduardo Año goes to be a General to a Secretary of the Cabinet. He would head the Department of Interior and Local Government," the President said.
"But while he is prohibited from assuming the task for one year – and that is the law, from the military service to the civilian sector, you have to wait for one year. Either he takes the title of Special Assistant to the President or the Undersecretary, whichever is tenable legally," he added.
Duterte said the retired military chief was "always welcome to report, maybe tomorrow."
Año was set to assume the position of Local Government Secretary in June but was delayed because of the armed conflict in Marawi City.
At the change of command ceremony, Duterte was all praise to Año for his accomplishments as chief-of-staff of the AFP.
Año headed the AFP for 10 months and was also delegated as martial law implementor in Mindanao, after Islamic State-inspired Maute extremists laid siege to strife-torn Marawi City on May 23.
The Philippine troops claimed victory on October 22 after they successfully flushed out all the remaining terrorists in the besieged city.
The Commander-in-Chief lauded Año for strengthening the defense capabilities of the soldiers during his stint at AFP.
"General Año's distinguished leadership resulted [in] a stronger AFP that did not just secure our nation but also secured our people's trust and confidence in the military establishment and the soldiers that it represents," he said. (VoxPop Philippines)
