Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual named his second-in-command Rafaelita Aldaba as "supervising undersecretary" of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to resolve a lingering friction in the body.

Pascual has withdrawn Department Order 22-114 he issued on the morning of 14 December 2002, Wednesday, assigning Aldaba as officer-in-charge of PEZA, replacing OIC-deputy director general Tereso Panga, earlier installed as OIC that is set to expire this 31 December 2022.

"We withdrew the Department Order issued earlier to clarify the role of Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba. We have recently issued another Department Order designating Aldaba as Supervising Undersecretary of the PEZA," Pascual's statement said, sent to the members of the media Wednesday afternoon.

Trade undersecretary and Pascual's chief of staff, Carol Sanchez, said the functions of the supervising undersecretary include supporting the Secretary's monitoring and supervision of PEZA as an attached agency of DTI.

SC precedence
"The PEZA Board will meet tomorrow (15 December) to discuss further details," Sanchez said, adding that the department will provide a copy of the updated department order.

The DO, assigning Aldaba as OIC, was also questioned by a source, stating that it is "flawed," as it mirrors the incident that happened to former Transportation and Communication undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista when she held a double position in 2010 as officer-in-charge of the Maritime Industry Authority and as undersecretary of the defunct Department of Transportation and Communication.

The Supreme Court in February 2010 ruled that holding a double position by an official was unconstitutional and in violation of Section 13, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.

"Allowing undersecretaries or assistant secretaries to occupy other government posts would open a Pandora's box as to let them feast on choice government positions," the ruling said.