President Duterte has named former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as the new chairman of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), leaving his three posts in Malacañang vacant, including the post of the presidential spokesperson.
Nograles's appointment came a month following the retirement of Alicia dela Rosa-Bala as CSC chairperson.
Nograles's appointment was reported on Monday morning, March 7, but Malacañang did not confirm this.
This was only confirmed when President Duterte himself swore in Nograles in his new post on Monday evening.
LOOK: President Duterte administers the oath of former Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles as the new chairman of the Civil Service Commission. ( Palace) @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/v7BqAH2QUm
— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyllcyrus_MB) March 7, 2022
A video of Nograles's oath-taking was uploaded on the Facebook page of Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM). Based on the caption, Nograles was appointed as Ad Interim Chairman of the CSC.
In a text message, Nograles said he had effectively vacated his three posts in Malacañang upon his appointment.
Before his move to the CSC, Nograles was Cabinet Secretary since November 2018. He also served as the co-chairperson of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In October last year, President Duterte designated him to be the Palace spokesman following the resignation of Harry Roque, who is seeking a Senate post in the 2022 elections.
With Nograles's new appointment, Malacañang is left without a Cabinet Secretary and a spokesperson.
In a text message, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said President Duterte would announce who would be Malacañang's fifth spokesperson.
"Will wait for PRRD's (President Duterte's) announcement," he said.