Marcos picks ex-solon Anton Lagdameo as special assistant

Category : | Sub Category : Election 2022 Posted on 2022-05-26 08:11:47

ABS-CBN

MANILA — President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Thursday that he has picked former Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Lagdameo Jr. as his special assistant. 

In a press conference a day after his proclamation, Marcos Jr. said he chose Lagdameo as they have been working together "for the past 10 years."

"It's very sensitive and very important in the sense that we have worked and known each other since he was a child. Hindi na ako child noon, pero since he was young, " he said.

"Between the two of us, we already found a 'modus vivendi' so that should be an easy position for me to pick up on," the president-elect added.

Once Marcos Jr. is sworn into office on June 30, Lagdameo will be succeeding Jesus Melchor Quitain, who has served as officer-in-charge of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President since 2018.

The position was first occupied by Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go when President Rodrigo Duterte rose to power in 2016.

Lagdameo, a scion of a wealthy clan in Southern Mindanao, served 3 terms as congressman of Davao del Norte's second district from 2007 to 2016. He is the husband of actress and TV host Dawn Zulueta.

He had supported Marcos Jr.'s 2016 vice-presidential bid. Zulueta had told ABS-CBN News that year that her husband received death threats as a result.

Marcos Jr. on Thursday also announced that he has picked Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno as his incoming finance secretary, San Miguel Corp. Tollways chief Manuel Bonoan as public works secretary, and former University of the Philippines president Fred Pascual as trade chief.