PRESUMPTIVE president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (BBM) is looking for people who have not joined efforts to topple government, who love the country and respects the Constitution, for his Cabinet, his spokesman Vic Rodriguez said yesterday.
Marcos last week named his running mate and presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio as education secretary. Last Friday, Rodriguez said Marcos has picked Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., the Marcos camp’s national campaign manager and former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, as interior secretary.
Rodriguez, in an interview with DZMM TeleRadyo yesterday, said vetting for the Marcos Cabinet continues.
“Ang pangunahin kinakailangan, iyung may pagmamahal bansa, iyung may respeto sa Saligang Batas, sa ating Konstitusyon, at iyung mga pagkilala sa watawat (The primary criteria are he or she must love the country, must have respect for the Constitution, and recognizes the flag),” he said.
Another important criterion, he said, is that the person should have not been part of efforts to bring down the government because the incoming Marcos administration is advocating unity.
“Iyung kailan man ay hindi nanawagan ng pagpapabagsak ng gobyerno dahil bukod sa unity (someone who never called for the downfall of government because apart from unity), we need stability at this point in time in our government and in our life as Filipinos, if you want to shape it and go straight forward to nation building,” he said.
Rodriguez said potential appointees are being interviewed and some are volunteering to join the Marcos Cabinet but he declined to give names.
He reiterated that a supposed list of potential Cabinet members, including him, that circulated over the weekend is neither true nor official. In the list, Rodriguez will get the post of executive secretary.
Infectious disease expert Dr Edsel Salvaña was reported to be getting the health portfolio.
Salvaña, at the “Laging Handa” public briefing, declined to comment and said it it better to wait if there will be an official announcement from the incoming administration. He said he prefers to focus now on the COVID-19 situation and its prevention and control. He added he is a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Department of Health and he wants to focus on sharing his knowledge about the pandemic to prevent it from getting worse.
Rodriguez reiterated Marcos is open to appointing and working with opposition members, and even his rivals in the presidential race, if they are qualified and are willing to work with them.
Rodriguez, who heads the transition team of the Marcos camp, also said he has had an informal talk with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, but they are still waiting for the proclamation of winners before they officially talk about the transition.
Marcos leads the partial unofficial count of the May 9 elections, with over 31 million votes followed Vice President Leni Robredo with over 14 million votes.
