Palace: Cabinet secretaries must prove their place in Marcos admin

Malacañang on Thursday said Cabinet secretaries who tendered their courtesy resignations should prove that they deserve to stay in the Marcos administration.

At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro assured that government services would be uninterrupted despite the courtesy resignations of Cabinet secretaries, noting that they will still continue their work in the administration.

"Maliwanag din po ang sinabi ng Pangulo, hindi po maaapektuhan kung anuman po ang pending at existing projects habang po ito ay may transition at tuloy-tuloy lamang po ang pagtratrabaho ng mga Cabinet secretaries at mga tao sa gobyerno," Castro said.

(The statement of the President is clear: Pending and existing projects won't be affected amid the transition as Cabinet secretaries will continue their work.)

"Mas maganda po ito na mapakita rin ng ating mga heads of agencies, Cabinet secretaries na sila ay naaayon sa goal ng Pangulo. Ipakita nila na sila ay dapat manatili bilang parte ng administrasyon ng ating Pangulo," she added.

(This is [a] good [opportunity] so that the heads of agencies, Cabinet secretaries can show that they are aligned with the President's goal. They should show that they deserve to continue to be part of the administration of our President.)

Castro said lazy and corrupt secretaries have no place in the Marcos administration. Asked about the metrics of the evaluation, she said this would be based on the secretary's performance and if there are issues of corruption hounding the agencies.

"Unang-una, kung gaano nga ba kabilis ang kanilang performance at kung may issue ba ng korapsyon. So hindi lamang performance 'to, titingnan din po nila kung nagkakaroon pa ng issue ng anomalya sa kanilang paghahandle ng agencies," Castro said.

(First, it depends on how fast their performance is and if there are issues of corruption. It's not just performance as it will also be determined if there are issues of anomalies in handling their agencies.)

The President has called for the courtesy resignations of Cabinet secretaries, with the aim to "recalibrate" his administration following the midterm polls.

"It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations," Marcos said in a separate press release. "This is not business as usual. The people have spoken, and they expect results—not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act."

Some secretaries have already complied with the President's order. — VDV, GMA Integrated News