By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) – All the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the Department of Justice have already submitted their “courtesy resignation” as of Monday, April 30, in compliance with a memorandum issued by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Guevarra himself confirmed that all the five undersecretaries and the seven assistant secretaries of the department had tendered their resignations.
The DOJ chief said that some of the said officials had even submitted their courtesy resignations even before he issued the memorandum dated April 24.
The justice officials who had submitted their courtesy resignations were undersecretaries Erickson Balmes, Reynante Orceo, Raymund Mecate, Antonio Kho Jr and Deo Marco; and assistant secretaries Juvy Manwong, George Ortha II, Moslemen Macarambon Sr, Cheryl Daytec-Yañgot, Sergio Yap II, Margaret Padilla and Adonis Sulit.
All five DOJ undersecretaries Balmes, Orceo, Mecate, Kho and Marco were appointed by then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.
Assistant Secretary Sulit, however, who is a career service official also submitted his courtesy resignation, although who is not covered by Guevarra’s memorandum.
The memorandum does not cover career officials who are protected by civil services laws, rules and regulations. Because of this, Guevarra said Sulit cannot be removed from office.
In his memorandum on “courtesy resignation,” Guevarra wrote that he was directing “all incumbent undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of this department” to tender their “unqualified courtesy resignations to the President.”
He said this was “in the exigency of service” and for him to be given a “free hand to perform the mandate given to him by the President.”
“Until any action is taken by the President on such courtesy resignations, all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries shall continue to report for work and perform their usual duties and responsibilities subject to any modification the undersigned may deem proper to adopt in the meantime,” Guevarra wrote in his memo.
The memo gave the officials until Monday, April 30, to submit their resignation, a deadline which they all complied with.
(Eagle News Service)