Former Presidential Adviser Secretary Jesus Dureza assumed his new post as Press Secretary, taking the place of Ignacio R. Bunye.
Bunye held the post of press secretary for five years in a concurrent capacity as presidential spokesman. He is set to join the Monetary Board (MB) early next month.
A lawyer by profession, Dureza was a 10th placer in the bar examinations and has been the editor-in-chief of Mindanao Times and a correspondent of Manila Times and Manila Bulletin for almost 15 years.
In the 1987 elections, he won as congressman for the first district of Davao province and served as spokesperson of then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1999-2000.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had tapped Dureza as “development champion” for her super regions economic development plan for Mindanao and for his active advocacy for peace.
In earlier interviews Dureza stressed that there would be no major revamp at the office of the press secretary, and that he would bring Malacanang closer to the provincial press and the masses.
He also vowed to enlist media’s support as partners for effective governance. (PIA/Bohol)