Guevarra asks DOJ asecs, usecs to tender courtesy resignations

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has asked the incumbent undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to tender courtesy resignations to President Rodrigo Duterte.

In an April 24 memorandum, Guevarra, who is approaching a month in his new post, directed all assistant and undersecretaries, except career officials as defined by civil service laws, to submit their courtesy resignations by April 30.

"In the exigency of service, and in order to give the undersigned a free hand to perform the mandate given to him by the President, all incumbent Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries of this Department are hereby directed to their unqualified courtesy resignations to the President, through the undersigned, not later than 30 April 2018, except career officials as defined by pertinent civil service laws, rules and regulations," the memo said.

The addressed DOJ officials, however, will continue to report for work while their courtesy resignations await action by the President, the memo said, given that their duties and responsibilities will be "subject to any modification that the undersigned may deem proper to adopt in the meantime."

All but one of the top-level officials, who "appears to be a career official," have complied with the order, Guevarra said in a text message.

The new Secretary of Justice was appointed and sworn to office on April 5, the same day Duterte announced he had accepted the resignation of ex-Justice chief Vitaliano Aguirre II.

Aguirre's resignation came after he earlier ignored quit calls following the revelation that state prosecutors under his watch had dismissed the drug complaint against several alleged drug personalities, including self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa and convicted drug lord Peter Co. — RSJ, GMA News