Palace on cabinet shake-up: No place for the lazy or corrupt

Malacañang on Thursday said Cabinet secretaries who submitted courtesy resignations must prove they deserve to remain in the Marcos administration.

In a press briefing, Palace spokesperson Atty. Claire Castro said the resignations present an opportunity for Cabinet officials and agency heads to demonstrate alignment with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s development goals.

"Mas maganda po itong mapakita rin ng ating mga heads of agencies, cabinet secretaries na sila ay naaayon sa goal ng Pangulo, ipakita nila na sila ay dapat na manatili bilang parte ng administrasyon ng ating Pangulo," she said.

(It’s also better for our heads of agencies and Cabinet secretaries to show that they are aligned with the President’s goals — to prove that they deserve to remain part of the President’s administration)

She went on. "Sabi nga natin, walang puwang ang tamad at korap sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Marcos Jr.,"

(As we’ve said, there is no place for the lazy and the corrupt in the administration of President Marcos Jr.)

Castro assured the public that government services would continue uninterrupted, emphasizing that the secretaries will remain in their posts and continue performing their duties while their resignations are under review.

"Maliwanag din po ang sinabi ng Pangulo, hindi po maaapektuhan kung anuman po ang pending at existing projects habang po ito ay may transition at tuloy-tuloy lamang po ang pagtratrabaho ng mga Cabinet secretaries at mga tao sa gobyerno," she said.

(The President made it clear that pending and existing projects will not be affected during this transition. Work will continue as usual for Cabinet secretaries and government personnel)

Castro emphasized that Cabinet Secretaries shouldn’t take the call for courtesy resignations personally, noting that those who are performing well have nothing to worry about.

"Liwanagin po natin: All cabinet secretaries, heads of agencies with cabinet rank, other heads of agencies kahit hindi kayo secretary and presidential advisers and assistance. So kasama po, kung sinuman po iyong binabanggit ninyo po, hindi ko po alam kung sino iyan, pero huwag niya pong — kung magandang performance niya, pero kung siya po ay nasa listahan po, ang kaniyang posisyon ay nasa listahan, huwag po naman sanang magmatigas if ever. At kung maganda naman po ang performance niya, hindi naman po siya matatanggal," she said.

(To clarify: this includes all Cabinet secretaries, heads of agencies with Cabinet rank, other agency heads even if they’re not secretaries, and presidential advisers or assistants. So whoever is being talked about — if they’re on the list, and if they’re performing well — they have nothing to worry about.)

Addressing Shortcomings

Castro also said the President has acknowledged that government performance may have fallen short of public expectations.

"Aminado ang Pangulo na kulang; sa kaniyang paningin, nakulangan siguro ang taumbayan sa naging performance ng gobyerno kaya hindi nila nakuha iyong pinaka-target na numero especially sa Senado," Castro said.

(The President admits that there were shortcomings; in his view, the public may have felt that the government’s performance was lacking, which is why they did not achieve the targeted numbers, especially in the Senate.)

"Pero kahit ano pa man iyan, kung anuman ang maging resulta ganito pa rin dapat ang gawin ng ating Pangulo – mas mapabilis pa rin ang performance ng administrasyon – iyon din po talaga ang nais ng ating Pangulo," she further explained.

(However, regardless of the outcome, whatever the result may be, this is what the President should still do – to speed up the performance of the administration – and this is exactly what the President wants)

When asked about the timeline for the performance review, Castro deferred to the Office of the Executive Secretary.

"Kung mapapansin ninyo po sa bawat salita ng Pangulo ang gusto niya ay mabilisan. So, asahan ninyo po ang mas mabilis na aksiyon dito. Hintayin na lang po natin dahil kaka-announce lamang po nito kahapon," she said.

(If you notice, in every speech of the President, he always emphasizes urgency. So, you can expect faster action on this. Let’s just wait, as this was only announced yesterday.)

In addition to evaluating performance, Castro said the review would also consider whether Cabinet officials are facing corruption issues in their respective agencies.

No target secretary

Castro denied that the President’s call for mass courtesy resignations was aimed at specific individuals.

"We have no update on that, if there is really a target secretary regarding this request for courtesy resignation. There is none, as of the moment," she said.

She recalled that a possible Cabinet revamp had been discussed as early as her appointment, even though no concrete action had been taken at the time.

She then stressed that Marcos has long been monitoring and assessing the performance of agency and department heads.

"So, hindi lamang po ito ngayon, talaga pong niri-review. Tandaan po natin, marami na ang natatanggal bago pa nagkaroon ng eleksiyon, bago pa nangyari ang eleksiyon," she explained.

(This is not something that’s happening only now — the review has been ongoing. Let’s remember, several officials had already been removed even before the elections took place)

"Siguro mas naramdaman lang ng Pangulo itong naging eleksiyon na mas kailangan pa nang mas mabilisang pagtatrabaho ang administrasyon para sa taumbayan," she added.

(Maybe the President probably just felt that this election showed how much the administration needs to work more quickly for the people)

The President has called for the courtesy resignations of Cabinet secretaries as part of efforts to “recalibrate” his administration in the wake of the midterm elections.

Several Cabinet secretaries have already complied with the President’s directive.