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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 08 July) – The first Moro appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte is a Maranao from Marantao in Lanao del Sur, lawyer Guiling A. Mamondiong, who will head the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), a post formerly held by Joel Villanueva, now Senator.
Duterte announced his appointment at the Mindanao Hariraya Eid’l Fitr 2016 at the SMX Convention Center here Friday night, shortly after Mamondiong introduced him as the guest of honor.
“He will be the secretary of TESDA. It is a Cabinet position,” Duterte said.
Mamondiong, a lawyer since 1974, was Undersecretary for Rails of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) under the Arroyo administration.
He was one of the organizers of the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD NECC), a volunteer organization that campaigned for Duterte.
Duterte said the Moro people might be surprised “that there are only about three, four, or five Muslims who would be occupying a Cabinet position.” But he explained that they are “trying to do a (federal) framework and if I succeed in convincing everybody in Mindanao, if I could convince my MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) brothers and Nur Misuari of the MN (Moro National Liberation Front), there will be a reconfiguration of the territory and most of them will occupy the regional or state positions.”
Bai Yasmin Busran-Lao, Secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, is also from Lanao del Sur. She was reappointed to another term as NCMF chair in March this year. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
