MANILA -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte named Janet Abuel as acting secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, however, said Abuel's designation is not a formal appointment.
He added that the move is not in violation of the ban on appointments since no official papers have been signed yet.
"Wala naman siyang formal appointment, parang sinabi lang (There is no formal appointment, it's just verbal)," he said in an interview with reporters.
Abuel was previously named DBM officer-in-charge, replacing Benjamin Diokno who was appointed as governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Abuel, a certified public accountant, finished law at the University of the Cordilleras and topped the bar in 1998.
She also holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney in Australia.
Abuel is a career official at the DBM, starting as a budget and management analyst in 1996 and rising from the ranks to become undersecretary.
Prior to her appointment as the acting DBM chief, she headed the local government and regional operations group, overseeing policy formulation and concerns of local governments, as well as supervising regional offices as an undersecretary. (PNA)
