PNoy spokesman says Petilla still quiet on reported resignation

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla has yet to respond to Malacañang's inquiry whether he has resigned from his post as reported over the weekend, presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda said on Monday.

In a news briefing, Lacierda said he personally asked Petilla about his reported resignation via text message but got no feedback from the Cabinet official.

GMA News Online also sent a separate text message to the energy chief asking if he indeed quit his post but has yet to get any response.

“I have not received any official pronouncements with respect to any movements as to any specific Cabinet secretary,” the Palace official said.

Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, the ruling Liberal Party (LP)’s vice chairman for political affairs, said in a radio interview over the weekend that Aquino already accepted Petilla’s resignation.

Petilla, a former Leyte governor aligned with the LP, was appointed to the energy department in 2012.

Laughed off

Lacierda said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Benjamin Caguioa laughed off reports that he resigned from his post, Malacañang said Monday.

Lacierda did not give a definitive answer when asked about Caguioa’s resignation.

"I was also asked about Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Ben Caguioa. I was met with laughter by Ben Caguioa. So, I suppose, that's not true,” Lacierda said.

Citing a “well-placed” source, The Manila Standard Today reported over the weekend that Caguioa quit his post to focus on his private law firm.

Aquino appointed Caguioa, a classmate at the Ateneo, as his chief legal counsel in 2013, following Eduardo de Mesa’s resignation. —NB, GMA News