Philippines’ UN envoy Teodoro ‘Teddy Boy’ Locsin named foreign secretary as Duterte eyes cabinet revamp
Former three-term congressman and a newspaper publisher will replace Alan Peter Cayetano
The Philippines’ ambassador to the United Nations was named the country’s new foreign secretary on Friday, the first of several cabinet changes expected ahead of midterm elections next year.
President Rodrigo Duterte said he asked ambassador Teodoro Locsin to replace Alan Peter Cayetano, who planned to seek a seat in the lower house of Congress. Cayetano was a three-term congressman and a two-term senator before he joined the cabinet last year.
“Can you please call Teddy Boy Locsin and ask him if I can mention his name here,” Duterte said to an aide during a news conference in Manila.
Locsin, a former three-term congressman and a newspaper publisher, tweeted later on Friday: “I was asked. I said yes.”
Candidates began registering on Thursday for the midterm elections scheduled for May 2019 and seen as a referendum on Duterte’s administration.
