Marcos names personalities to key Cabinet posts

Photo from Bongbong Marcos' Facebook page
Photo from Bongbong Marcos' Facebook page

PRESUMPTIVE president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has selected several personalities to fill Cabinet posts under his administration.

Initially, Marcos Jr. said incoming Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will serve as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), while former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman and his campaign manager Benhur Abalos will head the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

As the MMDA chief, Abalos played a vital role in the fight against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Marcos Jr. also appointed lawyer Vic Rodriguez as his executive secretary.

Rodriguez is Marcos Jr.’s spokesperson and the president of the Quezon City Trial Lawyers League. He also served as deputy general counsel of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Cavite Seventh District Representative and House Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla has also accepted Marcos Jr.’s offer to be the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"I have asked him to join the government as...the secretary of the Department of Justice. I think he will be very good. He has...a great many years of experience in government... And what many people do not know he is a very, very good lawyer," Marcos Jr. said in a press conference on Monday, May 23, 2022.

Remulla has been in bad light for red-tagging some of the supporters who attended a campaign sortie of Marcos Jr.’s staunch contender, Vice President Leni Robredo, in Cavite.

In the light of the start of the canvassing of votes for the presidential and vice presidential race in the Congress, Remulla said he is willing to abstain if someone will question his partiality.

While he cannot fill both posts at the same time -- as the DOJ head and a lawmaker, Remulla said the House of Representatives may assign a “caretaker” of his post or a special election for the Seventh District representative of Cavite may be conducted.

Remulla said he prefers the conduct of a special election.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner George Garcia said the House of Representatives should issue a resolution calling for the conduct of special elections to fill up the vacant seat.

Marcos Jr. said Philippine Competition Commission chief Arsenio Balisacan will return as the head of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Balisacan served as the Neda chair under the administration of late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

“I worked with him extensively in the time I was governor. We have very similar thinking in that regard kaya malakas loob ko, I know he is very competent I know his policies are policies that will be to the betterment of our country,” said Marcos.

In a statement, Balisacan said he is aware of the “immense work” needed in order to accelerate economic recovery and post-recovery development.

He said he is looking forward to working with the economic team and the private sector in order to bring back the country to its pre-pandemic high-growth trajectory, deliver rapid poverty reduction and reduce socioeconomic inequality.

“In returning to a post I have previously held, we rely on experience and judicious reckoning of socioeconomic issues to build stronger foundations for a more robust, more inclusive, and more resilient Philippine economy,” he said.

Former Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Bienvenido Laguesma is also making a comeback, Marcos Jr. said.

Laguesma served as the DOLE secretary from June 30 1998 until January 20, 2001 under the administration of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

In a television interview, Laguesma said he will first meet and have consultation with workers' and employers' groups.

Among the major concerns surrounding the department, which has been subject of protest actions of labor groups were the regularization of employees and the wage hike.

Laguesma said he has no “magic wand” for the swift resolution of labor issues in the country.

Marcos Jr. also announced the appointment of Susan “Toots” Ople as the secretary of the newly created Department of Migrant Workers, which is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Ople, the daughter of late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, served as an undersecretary of DOLE from 2004 to 2009 under the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The older Ople served as the labor minister under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s administration.

“We asked the help of Toots Ople to start organize already the Department of Migrant Workers so that when the time comes that we are mandated to start operations we are ready,” said Marcos Jr.

Her appointment gained support from the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and Federation of Free Workers, which are among the largest and well-organized labor groups in the country.

TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said Ople is the best person for the job considering her experience in handling and addressing concerns of migrant workers and their families. (SunStar Philippines)

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