Early Cabinet exodus reflects on Marcos — Lagman
BY WENDELL VIGILIA and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE sudden resignations of key cabinet officials in the first 100 days of the new administration shows that there is something wrong in the vetting process of appointed officials, a leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives said yesterday.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the president of the Liberal Party (LP), said the quality of presidential appointees reflect on the appointing authority, President Marcos Jr.
“When Cabinet secretaries so early in their tenure vacate their posts, either voluntarily or forcibly, then the vetting process on their appointments is grossly wanting,” Lagman said in a statement.
“The qualification, character, and integrity of presidential appointees reflect on the wisdom or caprice of the appointing authority,” he added.
While partisan credential influences appointments, Lagman said “it must not be ascendant to talent, merit, and experience.
“It is conceded that the President has the power to appoint members of his Cabinet, but he must be discerning and cautious in the exercise of such power because public funds must not be wasted on the emoluments of undeserving functionaries,” said the senior lawmaker.
Lagman issued the statement a day after Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles and Commission on Audit (COA) chairman Jose Calida tendered their resignation just as the President reappointed 10 Cabinet members who were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments for “lack of material time.”
Cruz-Angeles and Calida were among those bypassed by the CA.
Malacañang has yet to announce Cruz-Angeles’ replacement amid rumors that former press secretary and spokesman Michael Toledo, who served during the Estrada presidency, would join the OPS.
Toledo, who is now an executive at the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., short of confirmed that he received an offer to replace Cruz-Angeles.
“Sino ba naman po tayo para tumanggi? (Who am I to refuse?) I will be humbled, and it will be an honor and a privilege to serve under the Marcos administration,” Toledo said in an interview at the sidelines of the 2022 Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Multi-Stakeholders Forum held in Manila where the President was the guest speaker.
Asked if he had already received an official communication from Malacañang, Toledo said:
“I am not in a position to dwell on it but let me just say that given an opportunity to serve, why will I say no?”
He also said that there are no considerations to make if he is asked as he has always believed that “the greatest calling is public service.
“I am here to help in any way I can, whether I am in the private sector or should I go to the public sector,” he also said.
Apart from Toledo, others reportedly being considered as press secretary are Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation official Gilbert Remulla, and director Paul Soriano.
Chavez said he has been informed that he was among those being eyed for the post but he “did not apply and I did not express interest.”
“Binanggit ko na ang concentration ko ay rail sector. Sinabi ko na hindi ako interested sa press office ng Malacañang (I said that my focus is the rail sector. I already said that I am not interested in the [post at the] press office in Malacañang),” Chavez said in an interview, adding that there are other people who may be more qualified to be the press secretary.
He later said that he still has to “process” and “discuss” the matter with other concerned parties, including Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.
Likewise in an interview with ANC’s Headstart, Chavez said he was “thinking about” the offer and would discuss it with his family.
Remulla, in an interview with ABS CBN, said that he is satisfied with his position at PAGCOR, while Soriano said there are more qualified people than him for the position.
Both said they were informed that they were in the shortlist for the post.
SEALED LIPS
Resigned Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez yesterday said he has “completely exited the administration of President Bongbong Marcos” as he reiterated his desire to spend more time with his family.
“I confirm that I have completely exited the administration of President Bongbong Marcos, after having spoken to him at length about my wish to spend most of my time with my family… a very personal decision that was happily made,” Rodriguez said in a statement uploaded on his official Facebook page.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin the other day said his predecessor was “no longer” part of the Marcos Cabinet and that there is no official document creating the Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff (PCS), which was rumored to have been formed to accommodate Rodriguez.
When he resigned last month, Rodriguez said he would continue to be part of the Marcos government and serve as the President’s chief of staff.
His resignation came on the heels of the controversy related to the issuance of a sugar import order that Marcos had said he never approved.
Rodriguez said he has kept tight-lipped on issues related to his previous post as executive secretary because these involved “privileged” communications between him and the President.
“As for my continued silence on matters related to my previous position as the executive secretary, the fundamental reason for this is the fact that all communications that have transpired between the President and myself are absolutely privileged, something which I shall continue to honor in full recognition of and respect to both the Office of the President and the Office of the Executive Secretary,” he said.
He added that while he has been “ridiculed, maligned and subjected to baseless and unfair commentaries on all conceivable platforms,” he takes solace in the legal aphorism which states: “Men in public life may suffer under a hostile or unjust accusation; the wound can be assuaged with the balm of a clear conscience.”
He also said that it was an honor for him to have served the country as executive secretary from June 30 to September 18. He was Marcos’ longtime chief of staff before the latter became president.
