Año appointed as DILG undersecretary
Aday after his retirement, erstwhile Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chiefof-staff General Eduardo Año was appointed by President Duterte as undersecretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Duterte deferred Año’s appointment as DILG secretary due to the law which prohibits retiring police and military officials from getting appointed to government posts.
Año’s appointment was signed by the President October 26, 2017. But before this, Duterte was also poised to appoint Año as a Special Assistant to the President or any other position which would be allowed by the law.
The retired army general is set to supervise the Philippine National Police (PNP) along with DILG officerin-charge Undersecretary Catalino Cuy.
Año was supposed to retire in June after Duterte announced his appointment to the DILG. However, his appointment was deferred due to the war in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
Duterte on Thursday said the “crown jewel” of Año’s career is the battle against Daesh-inspired terrorists in Marawi City.
“General Año’s distinguished leadership resulted to a stronger AFP that did not just secure our nation, but also secured our people’s trust and confidence in the military establishment and the soldiers that it represents,” Duterte said.
“Of course, the crowning jewel of his impressive career is none other than the Battle for the Liberation of Marawi, which resulted to the neu- tralization of almost a thousand ISISinspired insurgents which include high-value targets being [hunted] around the world,” he added, referring to slain Abu Sayyaf Group leader Isnilon Hapilon.
Duterte, meanwhile, remained hopeful that the AFP will be able to sustain its gains because of the organizational and capability upgrades initiated during Año’s tenure.
These upgrades include the acquisition of new air and sea assets, stateof-the-art communications and the intelligence-gathering equipment and the latest military hardware that were initially used in dealing with the now decimated insurgent groups in Marawi.