Roundup: Philippine president-elect Duterte names Cabinet

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte unveiled on Tuesday his Cabinet, which has been 80 percent filled up, and gave the people snippets of the kind of government that he envisions during his single, six-year term.

Duterte, 71, was proclaimed by the joint session of Congress on Monday as the winner in the May 9 elections, and he will take his oath as the country's 16th president on June 30.

"They are all men of integrity and honesty," Duterte told a nationally televised news conference from Davao City, referring to the members of his Cabinet which included loyal supporters, retired military and police officers and former Cabinet members who served in previous administrations.

"It's really an inclusive government," he said, adding that he made sure that all sectors are represented in his Cabinet.

He said he personally picked the officials who will head the three government bureaus he perceived to be corrupt, the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Land Transportation Office.

"I assured the country and the business community that I will level, really level the playing field. I just give guidelines and I will not micromanage. I just want to make sure that people will not complain," he said.

However, he said he made clear to the Cabinet members that he does not want to see people queuing and that "I don't want people spending money when dealing with the government. I just want honesty and good faith in dealing with the public."

As expected, Duterte again sent a strong message to drug lords: "The order is dead or alive."

He also warned that he will tap the Army in the anti-drug campaign, saying that some policemen, including police generals, are corrupt and involved in the rampant spread of illegal drugs in the country.

"I will be harsh on corruption. I will be harsh," Duterte stressed, saying Filipinos are tired of corruption in government.

"Do not destroy my country because I will kill you. Do not destroy the youth of the land, our children, because I will kill you.

At the same news conference Duterte said he named "proven workers" that he can trust and work with in his Cabinet.

Duterte named as his Defense Secretary retired army general, Delfin Lorenzana, who was the former Philippine military attache to Washington.

Duterte also named Perfecto Yasay as acting secretary of foreign affairs. Yasay served as securities and exchange commission chief during the administration of former President Fidel Ramos.

Duterte also named former military's chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon as his National Security Adviser.

Chief Superintend Ronald de la Rosa will head the Philippine National Police.

Duterte also named lawyer Salvador Medialdea as his executive secretary, while another lawyer, Salvador Panelo, will be the press secretary and presidential spokesman.

He also named his long-time friend Carlos Dominguez to be his finance secretary. Other appointees include Jesus Dureza to head the peace process.

"I need young men but I need men of expertise and wisdom," Duterte said.

The tough-talking lawyer Duterte, who is currently the mayor of Davao City, the Philippines' biggest city, is the first president to hail from the southern Philippine Mindanao Island.

Duterte won on a campaign promise to target rampant crime by killing criminals, especially drug dealers, and restoring death penalty. He said solving traffic gridlock and waging war against crimes remain a priority.

Duterte has never held a national position before, which made him the first president to take a huge leap from being a local chief executive of Davao City for 21 years to the highest position in the land.

In 1986, former Philippine President Corazon Aquino appointed him acting vice mayor of Davao City following the ouster of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, a local post he held until 1988. He was elected Davao City mayor for 3 three-term periods, from 1988 to 1998, 2001 to 2010, and 2013 to 2016.

When term limits hindered his seeking the mayoral post, Duterte served as the city's first district representative from 1998 to 2001 in the House of Representatives. Afterwards, he became vice mayor from 2010 to 2013 to his daughter, Sara Duterte.

At one point, he spurned plans to hold the joint military exercises between the Philippine and U.S. forces in Davao. He also publicly denounced the U.S. agents for spiriting out from a Davao hospital an American whose limbs were severely injured after a bomb exploded inside his hotel room. Endit