President Rodrigo Duterte administered on Monday the oath of office of Davao City 1st District Rep. Karlo Nograles as his new Cabinet Secretary.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte appointed Nograles in the Cabinet because "he enjoys the trust and confidence of the appointing power, the President."

As early as two weeks ago, he said Duterte had made the decision to name Nograles to the post, which was vacated by Leoncio Evasco Jr., who quit to run as governor of Bohol.

In a statement, Nograles, 42, thanked Duterte for welcoming him in his Cabinet.

"As a fellow Mindanaoan and kapwa probinsyano, I hope to contribute to government efforts to bring development to the regions through different programs that place an emphasis on providing more economic opportunities outside Metro Manila,” he said in a statement.

Nograles, who is on his third and last term as congressman in Davao, initially planned to run for the Senate.

Apparently due to the Cabinet post offer, he did not push with his senatorial bid.

Duterte's son, resigned Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, will run as representative for the 1st District of Davao City in May 2019 polls.

While being a CabSec is his first position in the Executive, Nograles expressed hope that his experience as chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee would provide him with the kind of “holistic perspective” needed in his new post.

“As Appropriations Chair, one has to be familiar with the financial resources of the government’s different agencies, as well as have a general idea of their main trusts and major programs,” he said.

As CabSec, Nograles will head the Cabinet Secretariat, which under Executive Order No. 67 is tasked to assist the President “in the establishment of agenda topics for Cabinet deliberation” and “facilitate the discussion of cabinet meetings.”

EO 67 also states that the Cabinet Secretariat “shall serve as the head secretariat of the different Cabinet Cluster secretariats” and shall “participate in the National Economic and Development Authority Board and committee meetings.”

Nograles is a lawyer who obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo School of Law. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Engineering from Ateneo De Manila after attending high school in the main campus of the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, Malacanang released on Monday the appointment papers of new Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero and of Technical Education and Skills

Development Authority Director-General Isidro Lapena.

Guerrero, former administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority, replaced Lapena following the multi-billion peso shabu controversy at the BOC.

Duterte signed the appointment papers of the two on October 30. Celerina Monte/DMS