By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has kept most of his Cabinet secretaries, his executive secretary said on Tuesday, two weeks after seeking their resignation in what he called a “bold reset” of his government.
The President accepted four more resignations, Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin told reporters on Tuesday.
He said Mr. Marcos had kept several key officials, including the secretaries of Agriculture, Education, Labor, Health and Social Welfare.
The call for “courtesy resignations” came in the wake of the disappointing performances by Marcos-backed candidates in the May 12 midterm elections.
The President earlier kept his core economic team, along with the heads of the Defense, Justice and Interior and Local Government departments.
Mr. Bersamin also said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo would remain in his role until Congress confirms his appointment as the Philippines’ permanent representative to the United Nations. He was initially expected to step down by July 31.
Performance reviews for other senior officials, including undersecretaries, were ongoing, Mr. Bersamin said. “If you are asking for blood, there will still be blood,” he added, suggesting further changes could follow.
“I assure you that this is a very sweeping and thorough evaluation being made by the president and the panel of his choice regarding those who will be continuing to remain in office and those who will be ultimately ousted,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President has appointed Francisco Edralin Lim as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of the retirement of Emilio B. Aquino.
His appointment will take effect on June 5.
Mr. Lim has a background in corporate and securities law, having served as the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
He is also a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices.
A former trustee and president of the Shareholders Association of the Philippines, Mr. Lim “contributed significantly to investor protection and market transparency through both his professional work and his academic involvement,” according to the presidential palace.
Mr. Bersamin said the SEC chief would bring decades of experience that would “strengthen investor confidence and further promote transparency, innovation and inclusive growth in the Philippine financial sector.”
Mr. Marcos’ attempt to reset his government does not necessarily equate to policy changes, said Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University.
“There’s no expected fundamental policy change here; it looks more like attempts to root out any Cabinet members deemed ‘insufficiently loyal’ to Marcos,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
He cited the President’s clash with Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, adding that the revamp was probably meant to weed out Duterte-aligned members.
In a related development, a Commission on Appointments (CA) committee endorsed the ad interim appointment of Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon to the plenary. He told the appointment body at a hearing that the President had declined his courtesy resignation.
Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda also told the body his resignation had been declined.
The CA caucus and plenary meetings, originally scheduled for June 3, were canceled for undisclosed reasons.
During his appointment hearing, Mr. Dizon vowed to fast-track transportation projects and “make the lives of our commuters more comfortable and safer.”
He said that his agency was committed to completing major transportation projects including the Unified Grand Central Station and Mass Rail Transit line 7 before Mr. Marcos’ term ends in 2028. — with Adrian H. Halili and Reuters
