President-elect Marcos picks 2 Duterte officials: Bello as next MECO chief, Nograles as CSC chair

(File photo) Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III explaining his concern on what he thinks is a long quarantine period for returning OFWs during an unscheduled “Talk to the Nation” of President Rodrigo Duterte on April 21, 2021. (Screenshot of PCOO/RTVM video)

(Eagle News) – President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has designated two officials of the Duterte administration to two key government posts for the next administration.

Marcos chose Labor Secretary Silvestre “Bebot” Bello III to be the Resident Representative-designate of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan.

He also chose President Rodrigo Duterte’s former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as Civil Service Commission chair-designate.

Nograles was earlier nominated by President Duterte to head the CSC, but his nomination was bypassed for lack of a quorum by the Commission on Appointments.

(File photo) President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles during a Palace press briefing on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 (Screenshot of PCOO video)

President-elect Marcos, however, decided to renominate Nograles who had previously served as spokesperson and co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF)

Bello is currently the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). He also served as the chair of the government panel for peace negotiations with Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF) in the first few years of the Duterte administration.

MECO, where he will be assigned, is the duly designated instrumentality to promote and protect Philippine interests in Taiwan.

(Eagle News Service)