Datumanong starts revamp

Less than a week after assuming office, Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong made changes in his department staff, retaining only two of more than 30 personnel left by his controversial predecessor Hernando Perez.

The sensitive position of chief of staff will now be handled by Lorenzo Sulaik, replacing Senior State Prosecutor Pamela Escobar. Sulaik’s deputy will be lawyer Gabriel Enriquez while the head executive assistant will be Kenny Tantuico, replacing Perez’s son-in-law Ariel Castro.

Among those retained were executive assistants Evangeline Crusis and Jeanine Rose Mayor, who also served during Perez’s time.

The rest - with the exception of the non-plantilla staff - will have to "go back to their mother units." The fate of other office staff who were not retained nor told to return to their mother units is unknown.

Reliable sources said Perez, a former colleague of Datumanong in the House of Representatives for nine years, had "requested" that 19 of his staff - most of whom came from his home province of Batangas - be retained. This was apparently not heeded.

Datumanong, 67, who holds the distinction of being the first Muslim to head the Department of Justice (DOJ), assured the department’s senior officials that "no item" will be given to "any Datumanong" during his watch, which is expected to be until November or December this year, because of his plans to seek re-election as congressman of Maguindanao.

Insiders said this may just be the first in a series of revamps to be initiated by Datumanong, and that he is "trying to look" at what changes he can do in the line agencies under the DOJ.

The most controversial line agency is the Bureau of Corrections, headed by Perez’s trusted aide Ricardo Macala, followed by the Land Registration Authority.

Previous justice secretaries maintained at least 10 personnel in their office. Datumanong’s staff number fewer than 20, including clerks, utility men, lawyers, drivers and bodyguards.

Datumanong assured the public that the rule of law will always prevail and that he will not be biased in favor of anybody, Muslims included, in deciding cases that fall on his desk.