CA OKs appointment of Teodoro as DND chief

The Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed on Wednesday the ad interim appointment of Gilberto Teodoro Jr. as secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND).

This came after the CA committee on national defense endorsed his appointment.

Only Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned Teodoro during the hearing.

CA Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte manifested that the contingent from the House of Representatives would not pose any questions about Teodoro's appointment as they had worked with the Cabinet official when he was a Tarlac congressman.

In June, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. named Teodoro as the new DND secretary.

Teodoro was first appointed defense secretary under the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was the youngest to hold the position, at 43.

In 2010, he ran for president but was defeated by the late Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. 

Teodoro tried to win a Senate seat in Eleksyon 2022 but was unsuccessful. 

He topped the Bar exams in 1989 after graduating at the top of his class at the University of the Philippines College of Law. He has a bachelor's degree in commerce with a major in financial institutions from De La Salle University.

Teodoro obtained a master's degree in law from Harvard University. —VBL, GMA Integrated News