Usec Fredderick Vida to be appointed interim DOJ chief — Remulla

Justice Undersecretary Fredderick Vida will serve as acting chief of the Department of Justice following Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla's appointment to the Ombudsman post.

"Napagkasunduan na kanina nu'ng ako'y nasa Malcañang, nakausap ko na ang Presidente. Undersecretary Vida will step in as officer-in-charge or acting secretary," Remulla said in an ambush interview.

(It was agreed earlier when I was at Malacañang, I already spoke with the President. Undersecretary Vida will step in as officer-in-charge or acting secretary.)

Vida is currently the DOJ's undersecretary in charge of finance, administrative service, and personnel cluster.

Remulla said discussions have yet to take place regarding his successor as the Justice secretary.

According to Remulla, he is expected to take his oath by Thursday and may officially assume his duties as Ombudsman by Friday.

He will replace former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, whose term expired on July 27. He will serve a fixed term of seven years without reappointment.

According to Remulla, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed him to hold public officers accountable.

"Ako naman syempre, 'yun naman ang aking hinanap na trabaho eh. 'Yun ang aking hininging trabaho sa kanya kaya nagkasundo naman kami diyan sa bagay na 'yan. At marami pang iba na kinakailangan pang gampanan para mapabuti natin ang takbo ng ating bansa," he said.

(Of course, that's the job I was seeking. That's the position I asked him for, so we agreed on that matter. And there are still many other things that need to be done to improve the state of our country.)

Meanwhile, he said he directed the DOJ to "carry on" with the work.

Track record

Prior to taking on the undersecretary post, Vida was appointed to the DOJ in January 2023 as an assistant secretary.

He is also a key figure in the local politics of Remulla's home province of Cavite, having served as mayor of Mendez-Nuñez from 2013 to 2022. He was also elected as the municipal vice mayor in 2007.

From 2019 to 2022, Vida was president of the Mayor's League of Cavite.

In 2006, Vida was appointed assistant secretary in the Office of the Chief Presidential Counsel.

He finished his political science degree from the University of the Philippines, and his law studies at the Ateneo School of Law. He passed the Bar examinations in 1996. — VDV, GMA Integrated News