Rex Gatchalian named DSWD chief
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has appointed Valenzuela City First District Rep. Rex Gatchalian as the new Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Malacañang announced on Tuesday.
The former three-term Valenzuela City mayor took his oath of office before the President in Malacañang Palace yesterday afternoon.
In a social media post, Gatchalian thanked the President for the appointment.
“I just took my oath as head of DSWD. Mr. President, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be able to serve the country in a much larger capacity,” he wrote.
“Valenzuelanos, the services of our Congress and district offices will not change. The services will continue. Please don’t worry. Business as usual.”
He added that a caretaker will be appointed by the House of Representatives “in the coming days” to look after the 1st district of Valenzuela City.
Gatchalian, 44, replaced Erwin Tulfo, whose ad interim appointment has been bypassed twice over issues on his citizenship and libel conviction.
The President then installed former newspaperman and DSWD undersecretary Eduardo Punay as the agency’s officer-in-charge.
The new DSWD chief is the brother of Senator Win Gatchalian and Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian.
He graduated cum laude from George Washington University in the United States of America with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2001.
In his first stint in public service as Valenzuela City congressman, Gatchalian became one of the youngest lawmakers during the 14th Congress at 28 years old.
From 2005 to 2007, he served as president of the Waterfront Hotel and Casinos, the country’s biggest Filipino-owned first-class hotel operator.
In 2013, he was elected Mayor of Valenzuela City and then was reelected after the 2016 and 2019 elections.
Despite having a new DSWD secretary, the Marcos administration has yet to let go of Tulfo, whom the President described as an “asset.”
While speculations are circulating that Tulfo will be appointed as a presidential adviser, Marcos denied this, saying: “We have other plans for him.”
Marcos acknowledged that Tulfo “did a very good job” during his time at the DSWD.
In response, Tulfo thanked the President for his “continued trust and confidence” in him.
“Thank you for your continued trust and confidence, Sir PBBM. Ginawa ko lang po utos ninyo at ang inaasahan ng taongbayan,” he wrote in a social media post on 24 January.