
MANILA —President Duterte has established a transition committee to guarantee a smooth and orderly transition to the next administration.
Administrative Order No. 47, approved by Duterte on May 10, created the presidential transition committee (PTC) and internal transition committees in executive branch departments and agencies.
The PTC will be led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea will lead the PTC and will be composed of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua, budget department officer-in-charge Tina Rose Canda, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
The committee will be provided with technical and secretariat support by the Office of the Cabinet Secretariat and the Presidential Management Staff.
“The duly elected president and his incoming cabinet members should be given full support and cooperation by the outgoing cabinet to facilitate their assumption into office,” Duterte said in the order.
“There is a need to create a transition committee that will work closely with the representatives of the president-elect to ensure a proper and orderly transition of government into the next administration,” he added.
Based on the latest partial and unofficial election results, former senator and presumptive president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor and presumptive vice president, Sara Duterte-Carpio, have massive leads over their rivals.
Under the executive department, the PTC will serve as the overall and central coordination committee of all entities with regard to the transition to the new administration. It will also oversee the preparation and implementation of all state agencies’ transition efforts to ensure continuity and the efficiency of government services.
In addition, the directive ordered all departments, agencies, bureaus, offices, and other government entities to form their respective internal transition committees within five days of the order’s implementation.
To ensure the continuity of operations of their respective departments, the internal transition committees were tasked to oversee the crafting and implementation of systems and procedures for transition.
“We will work closely with the representatives of the incoming administration to ensure a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. Since we still have no proclaimed winner, official talks need to be put on hold for the moment,” Medialdea said during a meeting with Duterte and some Cabinet members last Wednesday.
Medialdea gave an assurance to the public that the executive branch is ready to turn over the government to the next president, but would continue to perform its duties in the coming weeks.
According to Duterte, he wanted to meet with members of the transition committee to discuss the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, which was driven by Russia’s invasion.
He earlier anticipated that the next president would encounter challenges if the crisis between Ukraine and Russia continues and pushes up fuel prices even further.
“But it would be good for us to meet this – well, not all, but select members of the committee or maybe all of them. We still have about one or two meetings because of the fallout in Ukraine,” the President said.
“Oil is a very dynamic thing from the time it is… sucked from the bowels of the Earth until it reaches end users… It’s a very dynamic thing and so many problems to solve. The war in Ukraine might be an attrition one… And it could last long or it could be over if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin backs out,” he added.