Marcos 'frustrated' with performance of Cabinet members? Palace responds

"Iyon po ang lumalabas."

This was the response of Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro on Thursday when asked if President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was frustrated with the performance of his Cabinet members.

She did not elaborate her statement.

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

According to Castro, Marcos will be the own "shepherd" of his administration in order to ensure swift governance.

"Bilang Presidente hindi po talaga dapat sinasabi na kailangan ng bastonero. Mismong Presidente mismo ang bastonero at iyan po ay aasahan natin ngayon po na nagsalita ang Pangulo na kinakailangan po nang mas mabilis at malinis na administrasyon – magpapakita po iyan ng Pangulo. Hindi po niya kailangan ng bastonero, siya na mismo po ang bastonero," Castro said.

(As President, he will serve as the shepherd of his own administration to ensure that the government is clean and takes prompt action. He doesn't need a shepherd. He's the shepherd himself.)

The request for courtesy resignations will give the President the elbow room "to evaluate the performance of each department and determine who will continue to serve in line with his administration's recalibrated priorities."

The call covers all Cabinet secretaries, heads of agencies with cabinet ranks, as well as presidential advisers.

Marcos' pronouncement came after his statement that the results of Eleksyon 2025 showed that the people are tired of politics and disappointed with the government.

Marcos said, "Disappointed ang tao sa serbisyo ng gobyerno. Hindi nila nararamdaman at masyadong mabagal ang galaw nang pagbubuo ng mga project na hindi pa nila maramdaman."

(The public is disappointed with government services. They say they do not feel the impact of these services and that projects move toward completion too slowly.)

Hours after Marcos' order, some secretaries already submitted their courtesy resignations. — VDV, GMA Integrated News