Enrile, Guevarra, Faustino to join BBM Cabinet

MANILA – President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. designated former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, outgoing Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, and retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Jose Faustino Jr. as his new appointees in his Cabinet.

In a press statement, Press Secretary-designate Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Enrile will re-enter public service as Marcos’ Presidential Legal Counsel-designate.

Cruz-Angeles stated that Enrile accepted Marcos’ offer and promised to serve the country and ensure the success of the incoming administration.

“I will devote my time and knowledge for the republic and for BBM (Bongbong Marcos) because I want him to succeed,” Cruz-Angeles quoted Enrile as saying.

Enrile’s nomination was announced two days after he disclosed the supposed plot by certain groups in the United States and the Philippines to “cause serious embarrassment and trouble for our newly elected President.”

Enrile, 98, served in government for over 50 years.

He was acting Finance secretary from 1966 to 1968, Justice secretary from 1968 to 1970, and Minister of National Defense from 1972 to 1986.

He spent four terms in the Senate and became the 21st Senate President during the 15th Congress from 2008 to 2013.

Enrile also served one term in the House of Representatives as representative of Cagayan’s first district.

Enrile announced his retirement from public service in 2016. However, he joined the 2019 senatorial race but failed to secure a Senate seat.

Besides Enrile, Guevarra will also be joining the Marcos Cabinet as Solicitor General, according to Cruz-Angeles.

She noted that Guevarra accepted the nomination on Thursday during his meeting with Marcos at the President-elect’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

Cruz-Angeles added that Guevarra was selected for his “sterling performance as a lawyer for over 30 years”.

Guevarra earned his political science degree and graduated magna cum laude at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1974.

He obtained his Master’s in Economics degree from the University of the Philippines and took up law at the Ateneo School of Law.

Guevarra, who placed second in the 1985 bar examinations, became a private lawyer in 1986 and started teaching civil law, criminal law, and administrative litigation at the Ateneo’s law school in 1990.

From 1977 to 1983, he worked at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Guevarra was the Deputy Executive Secretary before being named to head the Justice department in 2018, replacing Vitaliano Aguirre II.

Meanwhile, Faustino was appointed by Marcos as Senior Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge of the Department of National Defense (DND).

According to Cruz-Angeles, Faustino, who retired as AFP chief on Nov. 12, 2021, will later assume as DND Secretary on November 13, or a year after serving the one-year ban on the appointment of retired military officers under Republic Act 6975.

Faustino’s situation, she said, was similar to the case of outgoing Interior Secretary Eduardo Año who was designated by President Rodrigo Duterte as officer-in-charge and later assumed the Secretary position after the appointment ban lapsed.

When Faustino met with Marcos on Thursday, he accepted the post.

Faustino, a graduate of the “Maringal” Class of 1988, is a Mindanao veteran who has served under the special forces, infantry, and intelligence posts.

He was also the commander of the Joint Task Force Mindanao and was a commanding General of the Philippine Army before being appointed as the 56th AFP Chief of Staff.

To date, Marcos has 23 Cabinet appointees.

Earlier, he nominated his long-time chief of staff and spokesperson Vic Rodriguez as Executive Secretary, Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio as Education secretary, and Davao del Norte Rep. Anton Lagdameo Jr. as Special Assistant to the President.

Marcos also named Arsenio Balisacan as NEDA secretary, Benjamin Diokno as Finance secretary, Amenah Pangandaman as Budget secretary, Alfred Pascual as Trade Secretary, and Felipe Medalla as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor.

The other nominees to Marcos’ Cabinet were Cruz-Angeles as Press secretary, Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla as Justice secretary, Bienvenido Laguesma as Labor secretary, Susan Ople as Migrant Workers secretary, Manuel Bonoan as Public Works secretary, and Benjamin Abalos Jr. as Interior secretary.

Marcos also appointed Erwin Tulfo as secretary of Social Welfare, Ivan John Enrile Uy as secretary of Information Communications and Technology, Christina Frasco as secretary of Tourism, Zenaida Angping as chief of the Presidential Management Staff, Clarita Carlos as National Security Adviser, and Conrado Estrella III as secretary of Agrarian Reform.