Philippine vice president appointed as housing secretary

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Vice President Leni Robredo as head of the housing agency, a senior government official said Thursday.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said the president called up Robredo and offered her to be the head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, a position also held by former Vice President Jejomar Binay, with a Cabinet rank.

Robredo, in a separate statement, accepted the offer and thanked Duterte for her appointment.

She said she can better serve the poor Filipinos, particularly those who are homeless, with her concurrent position.

Duterte earlier declined to give Robredo a Cabinet position as respect to his "friend," former Senator Ferdinand Marcos who ran and lost to Robredo by a margin of only about 200,000 votes in the May polls.

Prior to appointing Robredo, the two leaders had met twice since they assumed office on June 30.

（APD）