PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte announced last Thursday that he is set to appoint retiring Army Commanding General Rolando Joselito “Rolly” D. Bautista as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Last month, Mr. Duterte expressed his desire for Mr. Bautista to head the National Food Authority (NFA).
“Na-announce ko naman (I announced this), the next DSWD secretary, just about a few days [ago], Rolly Bautista,” the President said in his remarks during a dinner with members of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Associate, Inc. (PMAAAI) at Malacañang Palace on Thursday evening.
Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, in a text message to reporters, clarified that Mr. Bautista “did not decline” the NFA post, adding that the President originally only “offered” him a “new post.”
In a press release, the Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) confirmed that Mr. Bautista is “retiring from the military this coming October 15 and is set to replace DWSD Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo once officially delegated.”
In his speech, Mr. Duterte also thanked the military for their efforts to cooperate with his administration.
“Thank you for this honor and the show of your camaraderie with me as a government worker like you,” he said.
The PCOO said the PMAAAI organized the event dubbed as “Sama-Samang Pasasalamat Para Sa Pangulo” as their “expression of gratitude” for the President’s “exemplary leadership in fighting corruption and maintaining peace and order both as the country’s leader and as the military’s Commander-in-Chief.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

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