Vic Rodriguez no longer part of gov’t — Palace
PRESS Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles and Commission on Audit (COA) chairman Jose Calida tendered their resignation yesterday just as President Marcos Jr. reappointed 10 Cabinet members who were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments for “lack of material time.”
This developed as Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin clarified that his resigned predecessor, Victor Rodriguez, is no longer part of the Marcos Cabinet because he does not hold any position in government, including chief of staff which the latter previously claimed.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Dominic Guevarra, in an interview with the Malacañang Press Corps’ pool, said the Palace received Cruz-Angeles’ resignation letter yesterday and the President responded by giving her a letter thanking her for her services.
Guevarra said he will meet with the members of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) about its functions and operations until a new press secretary is appointed.
Cruz-Angeles, in a statement to media, said: “I tendered my resignation this morning, effective at the end of business hours today. Due to health reasons. It was a pleasure working with you.”
She did not say what ailment she has but told the media that it is “nothing serious naman, but it needs to be addressed.”
Bersamin said there is no replacement yet for Cruz-Angeles amid rumors that former press secretary and spokesman Michael Toledo, who served during the Estrada presidency, would join the OPS.
He said the report has long been going around and it is better to just give the President the chance to appoint a replacement.
On Calida, Bersamin said he resigned as COA chief due to “many reasons.”
“But it’s up to him (Calida) to later explain to you or publish what were his reasons… But we accepted that with regret and we commended him for his patriotism, for serving for a short while,” he added.
Cruz-Angeles and Calida were among those bypassed by the CA.
PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF OF STAFF
Asked about Rodriguez, Bersamin said his predecessor is no longer part of the Marcos administration since there is yet no Presidential Chief of Staff position, and an Administrative Order No. 1 (AO1) which supposedly revives the Office of the Chief of Staff does not exist.
Rodriguez resigned as executive secretary last month, saying he wants to devote more time to his family, but said he would continue to serve as presidential chief of staff.
Rodriguez served as spokesman of then presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the 2022 elections until his appointment as executive secretary.
The OPS has said that based on AO1, the position of Presidential Chief of Staff will have the “rank and emoluments of a Cabinet Secretary,” but copies of the issuance have yet to be released.
Bersamin said he has not seen a copy of AO1 but is aware that it was talked about prior to his appointment, and there was even a legal position from the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel about the matter.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile said the post of Presidential Chief of Staff may be redundant as it duplicates the functions of other offices, and it does not need any additional power.
“Ang totoo niyan ay kung mayroon talaga (AO1), ililitaw natin kung mayroon. Pero up to no wala pang lumilitaw na ganyan (AO1). We don’t even talk about it (If there is an AO1, we would have released it. But up to now there is none. We don’t even talk about it),” Bersamin said as he also urged the public to respect Rodriguez’ privacy.
Bersamin confirmed the reappointment of the other Cabinet officials who failed to pass the CA during its last session.
He said it is unfair to say that the Cabinet members, whom he said hold powerful and important positions, were bypassed since the CA deliberations on their appointment were merely rescheduled in November due to lack of time.
A social media post from the Office of the President, and later from the OPS, showed pictures of the President administering the oath of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Migrant Workers Secretary Maria Susana Ople, Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Human Settlements Secretary Jose Acuzar.
Bersamin also took his oath yesterday.
Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy, who was also bypassed by the CA, was not among the list of reappointed officials. Bersamin said Uy is still in the US but he said, before leaving for abroad, that his schedule with the CA had been reset for November.
