HOUSE Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday congratulated Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles on his appointment as the new Cabinet secretary. Arroyo said Nograles, who chaired the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, would be a “valuable” addition to the Duterte Cabinet.
“My congratulations to the new Cabinet secretary, Karlo Nograles. I am sure he will do very well in his new position, and that he will be a valuable member of the President’s team. I wish him all the best,” Arroyo said in a message sent to House reporters.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo on Monday confirmed Nograles’s appointment as the Cabinet secretary, saying the latter “enjoys the trust and confidence” of the President.
Panelo said President Duterte chose Nograles to replace Leoncio B. Evasco Jr. as early as two weeks ago.
Evasco had resigned to run for governor of Bohol province in the 2019 midterm polls.
Nograles is serving his third and last term as Davao representative.
Nograles dropped his senatorial bid for the upcoming 2019 midterm elections, saying he would instead support other senatorial hopefuls from Mindanao belonging to the administration slate.
In a separate news statement, Nograles thanked Duterte for the opportunity to serve his Cabinet, saying that he hoped to be able to aid efforts to push the administration’s development agenda.
Nograles was serving his third term as the representative of the first district of Davao when he was tapped by the President.
“I thank President Duterte for welcoming me to his Cabinet. As a fellow Mindanaoan, I hope to contribute to government efforts to bring development to the regions through different programs that place an emphasis on providing more economic opportunities outside Metro Manila,” said Nograles, who took his oath on Monday.
As Cabinet secretary, Nograles will head the Cabinet Secretariat, which, under Executive Order (EO) 67, is tasked to assist the President “in the establishment of agenda topics for Cabinet deliberation” and “facilitate the discussion of Cabinet meetings.”
EO 67 also states that the Cabinet Secretariat “shall serve as the head secretariat of the different Cabinet Cluster secretariats” and shall “participate in the National Economic and Development Authority Board and committee meetings.”
Nograles is a lawyer who obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo School of Law. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in management engineering from the Ateneo de Manila after attending high school in the main campus of the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City.
Nograles won his first election as congressman in 2010, and was re-elected in 2013 and 2016. Aside from serving as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in the 17th Congress—he also served as chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment during the 16th Congress.
Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz and PNA