Palace: Marcos to decide on Cabinet members' courtesy resignations swiftly

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is expected to have a quick decision on the courtesy resignations filed by Cabinet members, according to Malacañang on Friday.

“Hindi ko masasabi yung timeline pero ang sabi nga ng Pangulo gusto niya mabilis. So, dapat mabilisan din ito. Makakaasa sila na mas mabilis ang pagde-decide patungkol dito,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro told GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita in an interview.

(I can't tell the timeline, but the President said he wants it to be urgent. So, the decision should be quick too. They can expect a quicker decision on this.)

Castro added the President is considering “performance” and “absence of corruption” in deciding who will stay as Cabinet officials.

“Unang-una, siyempre, ayaw ng mabagal ng Pangulo. Yan ang nireklamo niya, ayaw niya maging mabagal ang trabaho ng administration. At the same time, may mga issues ng korapsyon. So isa yan,” she said.

(The President doesn't want things to be slow. That's what he complained about, he doesn't want the administration's work to be slow. At the same time, there are issues of corruption, so that's one thing.)

“So performance, saka dapat maging malinis ang trabaho ng mga Gabinete, dapat walang korap,” she added.

(Performance, then the work of the Cabinet should be efficient, there should be no corruption.)

Marcos on Thursday directed the courtesy resignations of Cabinet secretaries to "recalibrate" his administration after the 2025 national and local elections.

He earlier said that results of the May 2025 midterm polls showed that the people are "tired of politics and they are disappointed with the government."

Of the 12 newly elected senators in Eleksyon 2025, six were endorsed by Marcos under the Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas including Erwin Tulfo, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Camille Villar, and Lito Lapid.

Heeding the call of Marcos, some Cabinet secretaries have already submitted their courtesy resignations.

Meanwhile, the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) has backed Marcos' call as it affirms its solidarity with the President's leadership.

“The LCP expresses its full support for the President's decision to evaluate the performance of Cabinet Secretaries through a call for courtesy resignations,” the LCP said in a statement.

“Together, we move forward in building a government that delivers with compassion, efficiency, and unity,'' it added. —VAL/AOL, GMA Integrated News