After Atty. Arthur Tugade resigned from the CDC top post last April to support the presidential bid of Rodrigo Duterte, the question of who would replace him rested on who would emerge new president in the last May elections.
Now that Duterte is president, the question of who would fill in the top CDC post now face narrower answers, all in the Tugade context.
With Duterte very provincial for years as Davao mayor, his choices for posts in his administration must therefore be sourced from trusted words of peers who know better the rest of the country, including Clark Freeport.
Thus, Tugade. He was Duterte’s classmate who was also top of their law class at San Beda College.
Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimental was reported to have recommended to Duterte the appointment of former Angeles City councilor Dr. Irineo Alvarez, now a consultant to the multi-billion peso Midori tourism project which he initiated here, as CDC president and chief executive officer.
But sources from Malacanang reached by Punto said Tugade had another recommendee and that Tugade’s recommendation if not Tugade himself, bore more weight in the presidential inclination.
Tugade reportedly intends to still monitor Clark through his recommendation.
“It seems final. We are just waiting for the President to sign any day now his letter endorsing to the CDC board the new CDC president,” said two Malacanang sources who asked not to be named for lack of authority to release information on the issue.
And the winner is… current CDC vice president for finance Noel Manankil.
