Marcos says Cabinet revamp still under review

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is now reviewing the performance of government agencies at the undersecretary level.

He also clarified that the changes in the Cabinet are not a “revamp” but putting agency leaders on “probation.”

“Yung iba maganda naman ang performance. Now, nasa Usec na tayo, nasa agencies na tayo. (The other [agencies] are performing well. We are at [undersecretary level] in the agencies now.) But we are, what essentially, what you call, what you refer to as a Cabinet revamp, it's not a one-shot, one-time, big-time thing. It is an ongoing thing. This is something, it is essentially putting all government agencies, departments on notice that we have to do better,” he said.

Marcos emphasized that he will look into the performance of government agencies rigorously and will conduct the review “on a periodic basis.”

“And we will be looking very, very closely and we will make that review on a periodic basis. Maybe a quarterly basis,” he said.

“Titignan natin, yung mga target ba natin, nakuha ba natin (Let’s see if we meet our targets), on a quarterly basis. And we'll be much, much more rigorous in looking at the performance, not only at the top level, but all the way. All the way. And that's why we'll see, I'm sure you will see more changes in the future,” he added.

To recall, Marcos asked his Cabinet to submit courtesy resignations pending review of the performance of their respective government agencies. He also extended this request to government-owned and -controlled corporations as well as other government officials.

Marcos has made some changes in the national government in recent weeks, replacing the secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development; Commission on Higher Education; and the Department of Energy.

He also accepted the courtesy resignations of Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) Chairperson and chief executive officer Meynardo Sabili, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Terence Calatrava, and Presidential Assistant on Muslim Affairs Almarim Tillah.

On the other hand, Marcos has retained some Cabinet members while continuously reviewing others.

According to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, until the President makes a decision on a particular government agency, secretaries are expected to continue their duties normally as government services remain unhampered during the transition.