There is only the silence of the graveyard from the side of the former Executive Secretary since the time the current one was quoted as saying in the Daily Tribune that Administrative Order No. 1, which the former crafted to cushion his resignation, and announced by the Press Secretary to have been signed by the President before his US State Visit, "never existed".

The statement of the Executive Secretary is, of course, a euphemism of the fact that A0 1 was disapproved by the President, and rightly so. As if that was not enough, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin issued a categorical statement yesterday that his predecessor is no longer part of the Marcos Cabinet.

The deafening silence is an admission that indeed the fall from grace and the ouster from power is complete.

The disgraced Cabinet member has only himself to blame for his comeuppance. Because of his close proximity to his principal, he probably thought that he was irreplaceable and indispensable. A grave and irretrievable faux pax.

He was too eager to exalt himself in his coveted post, exercising his newfound power to the hilt, without regard to the feelings of those he run roughshod against, even showing no deference and respect to the significant other of his source of power.

He ignored, or more accurately, refused to see the handwriting on the wall. Instead of departing gracefully, he design-led an administrative order and a special order that only revealed the depths of deviousness he was capable of doing to cling to power.

Creating the office for himself was the ultimate gumption. Fortunately, PBBM is cerebral enough to see through it. As we said, reviving the defunct Office of Chief Staff of the President and making him the Presidential Chief of Staff would have given birth to continuing conflicts between the new office and the other offices and departments in terms of duplication of functions and duties. The bureaucracy would have been chaotic and the services to the public would have suffered, not to mention the evasion or loss of accountability.

Moreover, putting in place such an office would have given the opposition the arsenal to continuously and effectively criticize the President and his administration for going against his own policy of rightsizing the offices in the Executive Department because additional positions will be created to assist the presidential chief of staff.

Additionally, PBBM would appear to be beholden to his former aide.

The thorough departure of his subaltern should be a forewarning to other government officials that behind the veneer of kindness and politeness, even of meekness, lies a cautious and decisive mind.

PBBM recognizes loyalty but he cannot sacrifice the higher and noble goals of the presidency for it. Do not mistake his appearance of meekness for indecisiveness. He may be tolerant of some mischiefs but when his tolerance level is reached, beware, he will spring like a ferocious panther.

Last week in my SMNI and DZRJ shows, I mentioned there was another head on the chopping block, one who pompously declared in the height of the sugar fiasco, "There will be an investigation… heads will roll."

I said in my previous column that the declarant was looking at herself in the mirror when she made such an utterance.

Evidently, such a person as an alter of the President and occupying a very sensitive and crucial position is not up to the job. Instead of shielding the President from embarrassment and using the legal mind, the voice emanating from the Palace would rather either exhibit blind obedience or loyalty to a perceived superior colleague or exercise plain incompetence and recklessness.

As of this writing (4 October 2022), this writer received word that the official has resigned. Not being included in the list of Cabinet members bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, who were reappointed by the President, there is no other option but to tender a letter of resignation.

The exit of the two Cabinet members who put Marcos Jr.'s presidency at risk of being the target of a battering ram gives it the impetus to chart a new flight plan. It can now proceed to fulfill its promise and commitment to propel this nation to greater heights.

Conflicted and undeserved appointments effected by the former Executive Secretary should be subjected to re-evaluation and recall.

Let us see how the cookie crumbles.