NEWLY appointed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has vowed “to restore dignity” to the Department of Justice (DoJ) following the resignation of Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd.
“My mission is to restore dignity to the DoJ,” Guevarra told The Manila Times.
He said the President only gave him one instruction: “Do what is right.”
Guevarra, who was previously senior deputy executive secretary, took his oath of office on Thursday, just two hours after the President accepted the resignation of Aguirre.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Thursday Duterte chose Guevarra because of his competence and integrity.
“Guevarra has proved his competence and intellect when it comes to laws. Secretary Guevarra also has integrity,” Roque said.
Guevarra served as Deputy Executive Secretary for legal affairs at the Office of the President in May 2015. He was appointed commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission in February 2016.
Guevarra finished his bachelor of arts degree, major in political science, at the Ateneo de Manila in 1974. He placed second in the 1985 Bar examinations.
Aguirre came under fire over the DoJ’s decision to drop charges against alleged top drug traders Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim and the move to put alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles under the provisional coverage of the government’s witness protection program.
A day before Duterte announced that he had accepted Aguirre’s resignation, Aguirre still attended the Cabinet meeting at the Palace. He was among the Cabinet members who cheered the President as he blew the candle on his birthday cake.
with JOMAR CANLAS