MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte appointed a former Davao City administrator and presidential assistant as acting budget secretary.
Presidential Assistant for Special Concerns Wendel Avisado has been named budget chief, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed in a text message Monday.
He will replace Janet Abuel, who was named officer-in-charge of the agency last March following the appointment of former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor.
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Abuel will stay in the budget department as undersecretary.
Avisado served as Davao City administrator when Duterte was mayor of the southern city from 2004 to 2010. He was also the national president of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
In 2016, Duterte ordered Avisado to handle the resettlement of families affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which ravaged the Visayas nine years ago.
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