2 more Con-Com members named

HONG KONG — President Duterte has named two more members of the Consultative Committee (ConCom) to review the 1987 Philippine Constitution, making the number of members to 22.

In official documents signed April 6, Duterte named retired Navy commodore Rex Robles and lawyer Jose Martin Loon as the newest members of the Con-Com.

Robles was a member of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) whom Duterte met along with Senator Gringo Honasan in Malacañang in August last year. The RAM is a group of soldiers in 1980s who staged coup attempts during the administration of former President Corazon Aquino.

He is also the Navy officer who claimed that high-profile military personnel received millions from government funds following the suicide of former military chief Angelo Reyes.

Loon, on the other hand, is a young lawyer who co-founded law firm Aquende Yebra Aniag Loon & Associates.

Based on the firm’s website, Loon is the first Filipino to receive a Masters of Laws degree in National Security Law. He was Senior Aide and Consultant to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano from 2010 to 2014. After his stint in the Senate, he is now Executive Assistant and Legal Counsel to business tycoons Inigo and Mercedes Zobel.

Castriciones stays

Meanwhile, it was also announced here that after serving as acting secretary for four months, the President has signed the ad interim appointment of John Castriciones to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Duterte signed Castriciones' appointment paper March 22, 2018, a copy of which was released to Palace reporters only Wednesday afternoon.