Jimeno quits Presidential Management Staff post to study

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Karen Jimeno is no longer the undersecretary for disaster resilience under the Presidential Management Staff.

Jimeno made the confirmation on Sunday when asked by netizens about her role in the disaster resilience program of the Duterte administration.

She said she tendered her resignation in July and is now in the United States to pursue her Master’s degree in the University of California Berkeley.

Jimeno is one of the officials who helped the current administration draft a proposed law creating a Department of Disaster Resilience. She quit her post just two months after she was appointed.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed her as the undersecretary of the PMS last May 15.

READ: DPWH exec Jimeno now Presidential Management Staff undersecretary

“I finished my task of working w/ other agencies in drafting the draft Disaster Bill w/c was presented to Cabinet & mentioned by PRRD in his SONA,” Jimeno tweeted.

“I haven’t received my salary as Usec for Disaster Res [Resilience] up to now,” she added.

Jimeno clarified that the disaster department has not yet been created and the bill is currently pending in Congress.

“My post was under Presidential Mgt Staff (PMS) because my task was purely for interagency policy planning & drafting. NDRRMC & OCD still have disaster mandate,” Jimeno said.

The lawyer was a former Public Works and Highways undersecretary for legal affairs and priority projects before she served the PMS. She was appointed by Duterte in 2016.