President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has designated outgoing Solicitor General Jose Calida as chairman of the Commission on Audit and Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso as the general manager of the Government Service Insurance System.
Sources said Marcos is also inclined to appoint the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations as his Foreign Affairs Secretary.
Manalo, the son of two ambassadors, previously served as acting DFA chief in 2017.
His mother, Rosario, was the first female career diplomat of the DFA, while his father, Armando, was a journalist and a former ambassador to Belgium.
A UP economics graduate, Manalo joined the DFA in 1979 and has served in various capacities—including as undersecretary for policy during the Arroyo, Aquino, and Duterte administrations.
Meanwhile, Calida is the current Solicitor General of President Rodrigo Duterte’s outgoing administration.
Veloso, on the other hand, is the chief executive officer of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
Marcos has yet to complete his Cabinet nominees.
He earlier nominated former Armed Forces chief of staff Jose Faustino Jr. as acting head of the Department of National Defense and retired University of the Philippines professor Clarita Carlos as National Security Adviser.
Among his latest nominees are former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile as chief presidential legal counsel and outgoing Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra as Solicitor General.
Marcos also chose Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Col. Ramon
Zagala as acting commander of the Presidential Security Group. Zagala and concurrent Senior Military Assistant.
