Bersamin bares Cabinet revamp

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced Friday the latest changes in the Cabinet following the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for members of his administration to file courtesy resignations.

As of Friday afternoon, 52 officials have submitted their resignation, Bersamin said in a Palace press conference. 

He said Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla would be the next chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Lotilla will be replacing Ma. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga.

Marcos, however, spared five members of his economic team from the shake-up.

Underperformance, underdelivery?

According to Bersamin, Loyzaga has no issue of corruption, however, there seemed to be an ''underperformance'' on her part since she is often out of the country, based on the reports they received.

''Si Secretary Loyzaga, walang issue ng corruption diyan, maybe there's just a perception, I don't know how fair or unfair that perception is na mas malimit siya sa labas ng bansa. 'Yun ang recurring na pinapadating sa amin,'' he said.

''Ngunit huwag na natin siyang husgahan, whether inefficiency 'yan o hindi, that's not for us to do but the evaluation showed that it was time to have her rest muna,'' he added. ''Underperform siguro ang tawag diyan. Kasi kung may expectation ang Presidente, you do not perform, ang messaging is underperformance is not going to be allowed.'' 

The DOE will then be temporarily headed by Undersecretary Sharon Garin.

''DOE will be in the hands of an [OIC], one of the undersecretaries, si former Congresswoman Sharon Garin,'' Bersamin said. 

Meanwhile, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Acuzar will be the Presidential Adviser for Pasig River Development. 

Bersamin said there had been no corruption or underperformance issue on Acuzar's part, however, he failed to meet the target of the government to provide one million housing units per year.

'''Yung kay Secretary Acuzar, hindi mo rin masabing corruption 'yan, hindi mo rin masabing underdelivery... Napakataas 'yung nilagay niyang standard niya when he accepted the job but you know, he was very efficient in the private sector and the President expected na makapagdeliver siya pero I don't know if he set his standards too high for himself dahil one million housing units a year, there may have been obstacles in his way which were beyond his control and beyond the control of the government,'' he explained.

The Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project aims to build one million housing units annually until 2028 to address the housing backlog in the Philippines.

Acuzar, however, admitted that it would be difficult to complete the target of six million housing units until 2028.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Tess Lazaro, on the other hand, will replace Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo who will be named as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

This as Antonio Manuel Lagdameo, Manila's representative to UN, will retire in July. 

Lazaro’s appointment will be effective on July 31.

Retained

During the press conference, Bersamin said the President did not accept his courtesy resignation.

The executive secretary also said members of the economic team have retained their posts.

He said Trade Secretary Cristina Roque; Finance Secretary Ralph Recto; Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan; Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go will keep their posts.

“Itong lima na ito ay magpapatuloy sa kanilang panunungkulan, paninilbihan sa taumbayan at makakaasa kayo na sila naman ay sinsero o dedicated sa kanilang sinumpaang katungkulan,” Bersamin said.

(These five will continue to serve the people and you can be assured that they are sincere or dedicated to their sworn duties.)

Meanwhile, Bersamin said there could be new appointees in the government following the Cabinet shakeup.

He did not disclose the composition of the review committee, which is evaluating the performance of the Marcos Cabinet, noting that the President makes the ultimate decision on the matter. —AOL, GMA Integrated News