Sarmiento is next DILG secretary

Photo Courtesy of MSSS Facebook Page

Samar First District  Representative Mel Senen Sarmiento will take the post as secretary of  the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), President Benigno Aquino III said on Tuesday, September 8.

"I offered the job to him [Sarmiento],” Aquino said when asked by if he has already chosen the next DILG chief.

“The transition is being worked out so that he is not thrown into the deep end right away, and there's a smooth transition between Secretary Roxas and Congressman Sarmiento," the president added

He said that Sarmiento's appointment is still subject to the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments.

Aquino confirmed this in a forum hosted by Philippine Daily Inquirer and was broadcasted in the government-run television network PTV-4.

Sarmiento is the secretary-general of the Liberal Party. He will replace outgoing DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, who is the party’s standard bearer for next year polls.

He is the former mayor of Calbayog City, whose celebrating its city fiesta on that day.

The appointment of Sarmiento makes him part of Aquino’s cabinet with only few months left in his administration.

DILG is in-charge of the local governments in the country and other government agencies like Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection. (Samar News Reports)

WATCH THE FULL FORUM HERE: [The quotation can be found on 52:02]