The appointment of former Manila Mayor Jose “Lito” Atienza as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has nothing to do with his familiarity with the sector, according to a former government official. It is just President Arroyo’s way of rewarding him for his solid support.

The source said Atienza was originally preparing to head the agriculture department, but she was told that current secretary Arthur Yap, her other solid supporter and former student, would rather resign than leave the department. So Yap remains with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Where to put Atienza then, he who split the Liberal Party just to undermine his party mates who had turned against Ms. Arroyo just in time for the mid-term elections? The DENR post was spotted, and so Secretary Angelo Reyes was moved to the energy department. “

“Lito never asked for DENR. He wanted DA,” the source said.

The talk is that the transfer to the energy department didn’t sit well with Reyes because it creates the impression that he’s being thrown around to accommodate other people. It was the third Cabinet post he’s occupied since 2003, the first two being defense and the interior and local government offices.

As for ex-Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Reyes’s predecessor, his friends are saying that he had wanted to leave the Cabinet for some time. The strong anti-administration sentiment expressed by the voting public in the May elections finally convinced him it was time to go.

The Inside Track is Newsbreak's intelligencer section. It features the latest buzz on juicy political and business goings on.

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