Cabinet shakeup 3.0: One fired, three resignations accepted, several stay

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Tuesday announced the third batch of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ongoing cabinet reshuffle, with one key new appointment, several resignations accepted, and one top-level official terminated.

In a press briefing, Bersamin confirmed the appointment of Atty. Francis Lim as the new chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), replacing Emilio Aquino.

The Palace also accepted the resignations of Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) Chairperson Meynardo A. Sabili, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Terence Calatrava, and Presidential Assistant on Muslim Affairs Almarim Tillah. Bersamin noted that they did "not deliver."

Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns Menandro Espinelli has been officially terminated, making him the only official in the batch explicitly dismissed from service.

Contrary to speculation, several top officials offered to resign but were asked to stay. Bersamin confirmed that the President declined the resignations of key cabinet members, including:

• Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon

• Health Secretary Ted Herbosa

• Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III

• MMDA Chairman Romando Artes

• Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian

• Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

• Education Secretary Sonny Angara

• TESDA Secretary Francisco Benitez

• Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma

• Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac

• Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr.

• Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco

• ICT Secretary Henry Aguda

• Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan

• Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile

• PMS Secretary Elaine Masukat

• MinDA Chairman Leo Magno

• Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Concerns Atty. Antonio Cerilles

• BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.

• BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio

• Treasurer of the Philippines Sharon Almanza

The wide net cast by the administration in this latest shakeup reflects what Bersamin called a “strategic reassessment” of government leadership.