No cabinet revamp, Marcos wants Abalos in

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denied reports of an impending Cabinet reshuffle but said he is considering appointing former Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos to a position in the Executive branch.

“I would be very frank. I want Benhur to play an active role in government. He had been helping us in many ways, informally and privately. I wouldn’t mind finding a way for him to help us in an official capacity. But it does not mean that somebody else has to be … it’s not a zero-sum game in the cabinet that you have to remove somebody to gain somebody,” said President Marcos in a media interview in Kazan, Russia.

The President said that currently, he has a good group of people in the cabinet with everyone working well together.

“I don’t see the need, and I don’t know why this keeps coming up. We don’t talk about that when we sit at the table for a meeting,” the President added.

From the grapevine, a major reassignment looms in the cabinet, in which it is said that DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla will be moved to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), while its secretary, Vivencio "Vince" Dizon, will be transferred to the Department of Transportation (DoT).

Further, the source said Frederick Go will be transferred at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), while former Albay Representative Joey Salceda is said to take the helm as Finance Secretary.

Salceda was later on tapped by the Marcos administration to serve as the new head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.

However, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa will remain in his post, the source said.