Avelino Cruz is new special envoy to EU

President Rodrigo Duterte has named former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz as his special envoy to the European Union (EU), according to documents released by Malacañang on Wednesday.

Cruz, who replaced the late former Senator Edgardo Angara for the post, will be serving a one-year term that started on January 1 and will end on December 31, 2019.

The President signed the appointment paper of Cruz, who served as defense chief from 2004 to 2006 under former President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on Monday.

Duterte has a thorny relationship with the EU. He had cursed at the regional bloc many times after the European Parliament criticized his war on drugs and his push for the reinstatement of death penalty.

The Palace also released the appointment papers of Leo Herrera-Lim and Christopher Montero as ambassadors to Denmark and Brunei, respectively.

Duterte also included Cook Islands in the jurisdiction of the ambassador to New Zealand Jesus Domingo.

Award-winning Filipino furniture designer and manufacturer Kenneth Cobonpue, meanwhile, was appointed to a three-year term as private sector representative in the Design Advisory Council, a public-private partnership that serves as the advisory body to the Design Center of the Philippines.

The Design Center is under the Department of Trade and Industry. —NB, GMA News