By Jeffrey Damicog
President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed a new prosecutor general to head the National Prosecution Service (NPS) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Saturday (June 29).
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
(TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“The President appointed Atty. Benedicto Malcontento, a private practitioner, as the new prosecutor general,” Guevarra told reporters.
Meanwhile, Malcontento is expected to start reporting next week at the NPS which is prosecution arm of the DOJ.
“Atty. Malcontento will take his oath before me on Tuesday, July 2,” said Guevarra.
Malcontento is a fellow San Beda College of Law graduate of Duterte, and is a partner at the Kho Malcontento and Associates Law Offices.
“Atty. Malcontento is a lawyer with exposure in criminal litigation. He will jive with the NPS in time,” stated Guevarra.
Malcontento replaces retired Prosecutor General Victor Sepulvida who was also appointed by Duterte back in 2016.
During the vacancy, Makati City Prosecutor Jorge Catalan and then Senior Deputy Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon acted as officers-in-charge of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
“OIC Fadullon will return to his original position as senior deputy state prosecutor,” Guevarra noted.