Jose Calida

President Marcos has tapped Jose Calida, the solicitor general who served under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, as the hew head of the Commission on Audit (COA). The COA has consistently recorded Calida among the country’s highest paid government officials in its reports on salaries and allowances. As the state’s chief lawyer, Calida was also involved in the prosecution of cases against persons and entities critical of Duterte. Among these legal actions were the impeachment of then Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and the quo warranto petition against ABSCBN. To observers, his appointment by Marcos to another key government post was not surprising. Calida was among the leaders of Alyansang Duterte-Bongbong that tried (unsuccessfully) to pitch for that tandem in the 2016 national elections. He also defended the controversial burial of the President’s father and namesake at Libingan ng mga Bayani and supported a bill seeking the abolition of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency tasked with the recovery of the ill-gotten Marcos wealth.