Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday expressed doubt about rumors that Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro was poised to be named as the next justice secretary, questioning what the latter has done to deserve the position.
Duterte said Castro was ‘not a good spokesperson for the Office of the President’ and the Palace press officer reportedly ‘brings embarrassment to the country.’
‘I don’t know her, and I don’t know what she has done for the country. and I also don’t know what she has contributed to the legal circles, the legal community or the judicial system for her to be appointed as secretary of the Department of Justice,’ Duterte told reporters in a chance interview in Zamboanga City.
The vice president also said she observed that Marcos chooses his appointees based on who he is allied with, instead of a person’s competence.
‘I’ve noticed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. doesn’t seem to choose his appointees based on their qualifications,’ said Duterte.
‘I’ve noticed that he tends to choose people based on who his allies are and who are loyal to them,’ she told reporters.
Castro has denied speculations that she is being eyed for the post after then Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla was named ombudsman.
No replacement has been named by Marcos at the DOJ.
Justice Undersecretary Fredderick Vida serves as the department’s officer-in-charge in the meantime.