President Rodrigo Duterte has asked newly-appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr to be "truthful."

According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, this was Duterte's message when Locsin took his oath of office before Duterte on Wednesday in Malacanang.

"I was there at the oath-taking yesterday and the conversation was like this: 'I’m honored with your appearance today and there is only one message I would like to give you and that is ? be truthful, nothing more'," Panelo said on Thursday in a press briefing.

He noted that Duterte appoints members of the Cabinet on the basis of truth and competence.

Locsin replaced Alan Peter Cayetano who quit from the post as he filed his certificate of candidacy for representative in Taguig City.

Meanwhile, Panelo also said Duterte still trusts Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena despite the controversy over the alleged P6.8 billion missing shabu contained in lifters.

"Well, the President has not said anything about losing trust and confidence, so my presumption is he has the full trust and confidence of the President," he said.

He added the Department of Justice, through the National Bureau of Investigation, has been investigating the alleged missing shabu contained in the lifters found in Cavite recently.

"So hopefully after their findings, we will undertake positive action regarding the matter," he said.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino has said that Lapena should be held liable if proven that the illegal drug shipment has managed to enter the country without being detected by the BOC. Celerina Monte/DMS