Lawyer Romando Artes has returned as the acting head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), replacing Carlo Dimayuga III, Malacañang confirmed.

Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed this to reporters, but the Palace has yet to release a copy of Artes' appointment paper.

Artes replaced Dimayuga, whose short stint at the MMDA started in August this year.

Artes is not a stranger to the MMDA. Former president Rodrigo Duterte appointed him to the same post on March 1, 2022, and served until the end of the Duterte administration.

Before this, he was named MMDA assistant general manager for Finance and Administration in 2017 and later as the agency's general manager in November 2021.

In his stint, Artes managed the budget and finances of the MMDA and achieved the first-ever "unqualified opinion" from the Commission on Audit for 2019 and 2021.

He likewise led the Covid-19 Committee of the Authority, which managed to inoculate almost all MMDA employees and their immediate families.

Artes also supervised the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program that facilitated the construction of the MMDA's new headquarters in Ortigas, Pasig City.

Before this, Artes served as an accountant and lawyer in the City of Biñan and as a consultant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

He also served as a political and legislative officer in the Senate and consultant in the House of Representatives.