The President's Men & Women
DU30 Administration
SALVADOR MEDIALDEA
Executive Secretary
​
SALVADOR C. MEDIALDEA obtained his Bachelor of Science in Management from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1972 and his Bachelor of Laws from San Beda College in 1976.
​
A member of the Philippine Bar since 1977, Atty. Medialdea began his law career at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRA) Law Offices. In 1983, he joined the Ponce Enrile Cayetano Bautista Picazo & Reyes (PECABAR) Law Offices where he was a Partner until August 1990. In both law firms, Atty. Medialdea handled various labor, litigation and immigration referrals.
​
Atty. Medialdea ventured into government service in 1998 when he was appointed Administrator of the Livelihood Corporation (LIVECOR) where he worked from 23 September 1998 until 30 November 1999. Thereafter, he was appointed Presidential Assistant for Political Affairs on 19 July 2000 and served as such until 31 October 2000.
​
Atty. Medialdea was President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (Rizal Chapter) from 1985 to 1987 and was its Director from 1983 to 1985. He is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Makati Southwest and is presently the Secretary General of the Asean Law Association Golfers’ Club (ALA). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the San Beda Law Alumni Association (SBLAA).
​
Atty. Medialdea was Bar Examiner in Labor and Social Legislation given by the Supreme Court in September 2006.
LEONCIO EVASCO, JR.
Cabinet Secretary
​
LEONCIO EVASCO, JR., is the mayor of Maribojoc town in Bohol province and best remembered as the ex-rebel priest who became one of the most trusted strategists of tough-talking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Priest ordained in 1970, who was pushed to join the underground Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, during Martial Law after his convent in Catigbian, Bohol was raided by soldiers in 1974. He was caught by authorities in 1983 and became a political prisoner. He was among the detainees freed by President Corazon Aquino following the 1986 uprising against Ferdinand Marcos.
​
He was the former secretary general of SELDA or the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto and at present the Vice president for Visayas of the League of Organic Agriculture Municipalities.
He obtained his AB Philosophy at the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos, Cebu City and Theology at Seminario Mayor de San Carlos, Cebu City.
Graduate Studies (Ateneo de Davao University); Maribojoc Municipal Mayor: 2007 to Present ; OIC-Davao City Engineer’s Office: 2004-2007; Chief of Staff–Davao City Mayor: 2001-2004; Chief of Staff–Cong. R. Duterte: 1998-2001; Head, Davao City Economic Enterprise: 1996-1998; Chief of Staff-Davao City LGU: 1990-1996; OIC-City Engineer’s Office: 1989-1990.
​
CHRISTOPHER "BONG" GO
Presidential Management Staff
​
Christopher Lawrence Go or Bong Go is a management graduate of De La Salle University, Go has been Mayor Duterte’s aide since 1998. He played a major role as executive assistant and campaign sortie manager of presumptive president Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Go handles almost everything about President elect Rodrigo Dutete be it political or personal. He scrutinizes every request and appointments, and has been with Duterte even at the most dire situation.
​
August Tesoro, Go’s grandfather, happened to be a very close friend of Mayor Duterte. Tesoro was the son of the founder of the largest printing press in Davao, and was one of the principal sponsors of Mayor Duterte and his first wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s wedding.
​
​
ERNESTO ABELLA
Presidential Spokesperson
​
Ernesto Abella graduated English Literature and Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University; completed a Masters in Divinity (majoring in Biblical Studies) at Silliman University; and a Masters in Social Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management. He has sat under Peter Senge, on the subject of Systems Thinking, Otto Scharmer discussing Theory U, Nick Perlas and the Lemniscape Process.
​
Abella was a former board member of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Koinonia Thelogical Seminary and Philippine Missions Association.
​
He also used used to be a columnist, creative director for an advertising agency, and an instructor at the Ateneo de Davao University.
​
An entrepreneur, Abella was also the former chief executive officer of F&P Agri-Inputs and AZ Agri-products.
​
SALVADOR PANELO
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
​
Atty. Salvador Panelo hails from Bicol who passed the bar in 1974 and graduated from the University of the Philippine College of Law in 1966. He is known as one of the most highly-paid and sought-after litigators in the country.
​
Atty. Salvador Panelo is a law professor and a high-profile lawyer that has handled many controversial cases throughout his career and known for taking tough and challenging cases, Atty. Panelo has become the go-to guy of famous personalities that are facing possible jail time.
MARTIN ANDANAR
Presidential Communications Operations Chief
​
Martin Andanar is a TV news anchor, radio commentator, podcaster, audio blogger and voice-over artist working for TV5. He is the head of News5 Everywhere, the online news video and audio portal of Tv5. He currently anchorsAksyon sa Umaga on Tv5 and Punto Asintado Radio Show on Radyo5 92.3 News FM and AksyonTV, sister stations of TV5. He is also a voice-over talent of News5, AksyonTV, and Radyo5 92.3 News FM.
​
Andanar studied at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, Georgetown University, Northern Illinois University, Asian Institute of Management, National University of Singapore and Federation University Australia.
RAFAEL MARIANO
Agrarian Reform Secretary
​
Rafael V. Mariano (born 24 October, 1956) is a Filipino politician and peasant leader. He is the incumbent representative of Anakpawis party-list in the House of Representatives. He is known as Ka Paeng among activists.
​
Mariano is a native of Quezon, Nueva Ecija and is the eldest among the five children of peasant couple Narciso Mariano and Herminigilda Vitriolo. At an early age, he helped his parents and family tend their two-hectare farmland owned by a landlord in their area.
​
Mariano studied agriculture and agri-cooperatives in Wesleyan University and Liwag Colleges in Cabanatuan City. However, he failed in finishing his college degree to become a full-time farmer due to his father's illness and increasing family debt.
​
​
​
EMMANUEL PINOL
Agriculture Secretary
​
Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol, a Mindanao politician and columnist. The 62-year-old served as governor of North Cotabato (now Cotabato) from 1998 to 2007. Piñol also served as M’lang municipal mayor from 1995 to 1998.
​
Piñol started his career as a journalist, eventually becoming national editor of the Philippine News Agency from 1978 to 1982. He served as close-in writer of former president Fidel V. Ramos in 1992. He continues to be a political and sports columnist of The Manila Times.
​
The journalist-turned-politician earned his BS Development Communication degree from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in 2006. He holds a Master of Science degree in Rural and Economic Development (2008) from the same university. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in the same field at USM and his Bachelor of laws at the Cor Jesu College in Digos City.
​
Piñol ran for governor of Cotabato in 2010 but lost to incumbent Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza. He has been a key ally of Duterte even before the Davao mayor ran for president.
BENJAMIN DIOKNO
Budget and Management Secretary
​
Benjamin Diokno (born March 31, 1948) was Secretary of Budget and Management of the Philippines in the administration of President Joseph Estrada, from July 1998 until Estrada's ouster in January 2001. Diokno also served as Undersecretary for Budget Operations at the Department of Budget and Management, from 1986 to 1991, during the administration of President Corazon Aquino.
​
On May 31, 2016, Diokno accepted the offer of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to join his Cabinet and return to head the Budget and Management Department.
​
During the Aquino administration, Diokno provided technical assistance to several major reforms such as the design of the 1986 Tax Reform Program, which simplified income tax and introduced the value-added tax (VAT), and the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines.
​
Diokno is currently a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics. He is also a columnist for Business World. He was born in Taal, Batangas.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
LEONOR BRIONES
Education Secretary
​
Leonor Magtolis Briones is a Professor Emeritus of Public Administration at the National College of Public Administration & Governance (NCPAG) of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She was a former Presidential Adviser for Social Development with Cabinet Rank and is best known for her stint as National Treasurer of the Philippines from August 1998 to February 2001.
​
Briones obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Silliman University and her Master of Public Administration with a major in Local Government and Fiscal Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She proceeded to complete further studies in the United States where she was granted a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Administration from the Harvard Institute for International Development at Harvard University.
​
Briones has served in various capacities. Her stints include serving as Lead Convenor of Social Watch Philippines, Inc.; as Director for Policy and Executive Development at the National College of Public Administration and Governance at the University of the Philippines; as Vice-President for Finance in the same university; and as Secretary to the Commission of the Commission on Audit. Briones also served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Silliman University. In 2010, Briones was nominated for the Presidency of the University of the Philippine but fell short of getting a majority vote from the university's Board of Regents.
ALFONSO CUSI
Energy Secretary
​
Alfonso Cusi served as Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chief, and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) chief during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He graduated from La Salle College in 1972 and proceeded to finish his MBA at UP in 1976. He joined the Aboitiz Shipping Corporation in 1972.
He is currently the vice-chair of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
Cusi also founded and chaired the Starlite Ferries, a shipping company based in Batangas City, Philippines that offers an inter-island RORO ferry service between Batangas City and Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, as well as Roxas, Oriental Mindoro and Caticlan Jetty Port in Malay, Aklan.
​
​
CARLOS DOMINGUEZ
Finance Secretary
​
Mr. Carlos Garcia Dominguez, also known as Sonny, BA, MBA, Ph.D., serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President at PTFC Redevelopment Corporation. Mr. Dominguez has been the President of Retail Specialists Inc., since 1991 and also Redrying Corporation, Baesa Redevelopment Corporation and Halifax Capital Resources Inc., since 1992.
​
He served as President of BPI Agricultural Development Bank from 1984 to 1986. He served as Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources during President Cory Aquino's administration from 1986 to 1989. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Airlines from 1993 to 1995.
​
He has been Director of several publicly listed companies and privately-held companies such as United Paragon Mining Corporation since October 29, 1993, Shangri-La Plaza Corporation and Mindanao Power Corporation since 1994 and Central Azucarera de Don Pedro since 1997. He serves as a Director of Huntly Corporation, Baesa Redevelopment Corp., C.G. Dominguez and Associates, Inc., Retail Specialists, Inc., Sports Specialists Worldwide Inc., Halifax Capital Resources, Inc. Mr. Dominguez serves as a Director of Northern Mindanao Power Corp., Hervey Asia Corporation, Halifax Davao Hotel and Transnational Diversified Group, Inc.
He obtained his Master in Business Administration from Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Business and Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree at Ateneo de Manila University.
​
PERFECTO YASAY, JR.
Foreign Affairs Secretary
​
Perfecto Rivas Yasay, Jr. is a lawyer and former chairman of the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yasay was Bangon Pilipinas Party's vice-presidential bet in the 2010 Philippine elections, running alongside Eddie Villanueva.
​
Yasay was born on 27 January 1947 to Perfecto Yasay Sr., a pastor, and Deborah Rivas, a public school teacher, in Kidapawan City,North Cotabato.
​
He finished his secondary education at Davao City High School in 1963 and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Central Philippine University, Iloilo City in 1967. He earned his law degree at the University of the Philippines and has MBA units in Business Studies from Ateneo de Manila University.
​
Yasay became a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While in New York, he was managing director of the Maceda Philippine News from 1983 to 1987 and senior partner at two law firms—Maceda, Yasay & Tolentino, Esqs., and Yasay & De Castro, Esqs.—from 1979 to 1990.
Yasay is also an incorporator of Jacinto Finance, Marilene J. Group Corp., and Cricem Inc. He is also a stockholder of M and F Stores Inc.
​
He was commissioner of San Jose, Yasay & Santos Law Offices from 1987 to 1993. Civil, criminal, and administrative litigation, public advocacy, corporation law, and election law are among his areas of expertise.
ISMAEL "MIKE" SUENO
Interior & Local Government Secretary
​
Ismael “Mike” Sueño served as chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party from 2014 to early 2016.
​
He was the Mayor of Koronadal, South Cotabato from 1980 to 1986 during the Marcos administration and Governor-in-charge of South Cotabato in 1986 during the administration of President Corazon Aquino and served as South Cotabato governor from 1988 to 1992.
​
He was the Chairperson of the South Cotabato Foundation Inc. Board of Trustees. In 1998 he was vice presidential candidate under PROMDI or the Probinsya Muna Development Initiatives Party.
​
Sueno was a member of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development Consultative Assembly (1997-1998) during the Ramos administration.
​
In Duterte government, he will be overseeing the various local government units across the country, the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
​
