Marcos: Underperforming 'friends' may go

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed that even close Cabinet allies face removal if they underperform.

In his latest podcast, President Marcos Jr. maintained that if someone was chosen to serve as a Cabinet official, then he or she must complement that appointment with the best ability in fulfilling their duties.

“That’s what we should do. Look, even if you are my friend and I love you, pero hindi mo nagagawa ang trabaho eh. Hindi naman ito tungkol sa pagkakaibigan o pagmamahal natin sa isa’t isa kundi sa ating serbisyo para sa tao (That’s what we should do. Look, even if you are my friend and I love you, but you’re not doing your job. This isn’t about friendship or our love for each other, but about our service to the people),” the President said.

He even likened his working relationship with Cabinet members to that in the military, where a one-strike policy applies and only the fittest members survive.

“In the military, if your official told you that these should be done, and if you did not fulfill that, then you’re out. You’re relieved. Then that’s what we should do, being strict,” according to Marcos Jr. in both English and Filipino.

The President, earlier last week, stressed that Cabinet officials and heads of government agencies remain under probation, clarifying that what he is doing is not a Cabinet revamp.

He said the scrutiny is now at the Undersecretary level.

“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. And we will be looking very, very closely, and we will make that review on a periodic basis, maybe quarterly basis,'' he explained, adding that the public would ''see more changes in the future.''