(UPDATE) President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Thursday Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno accepted his offer to serve as finance secretary.
Felipe Medalla, a member of the Monetary Board, will succeed Diokno as BSP governor to finish his unexpired term until July 2023, Marcos said.
Diokno previously served as budget secretary under President Rodrigo Duterte and former President Joseph Estrada. The finance secretary is seen as the head of the economic team, in charge of collecting revenue through taxes and customs duties and managing the country's debt.
READ: Who are Bongbong Marcos' Cabinet Secretaries?
Financial markets are awaiting Marcos' appointments to his economic team, who will be tasked with restoring pre-pandemic growth momentum. Earlier this week, former socioeconomic planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan said he would be returning to his old post under the new government.
Medalla previously served as socioeconomic planning secretary and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority under the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.
Marcos also bared three more potential members to his Cabinet: Alfred Pascual for trade secretary, Manny Bonoan for public works secretary, and Anton Lagdameo as special assistant to the president.
Pascual formerly served as president of the University of the Philippines System and now heads the Management Association of the Philippines, while Bonoan is currently the president of SMC Tollways.
Lagdameo, on the other hand, is a former representative of the second district of Davao Del Norte and the husband of actress Dawn Zulueta.
Other names have previously been confirmed as part of the Marcos Cabinet, including presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio for education secretary, Benhur Abalos for interior secretary, Bienvenido Laguesma for labor secretary, Arsenio Balisacan for socioeconomic planning secretary, and Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla for justice secretary.
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