Major Cabinet reorganization looms as appointment ban ends
LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia —
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. confirmed that there would be major changes in his Cabinet after the ban on appointing losing election candidates to government positions lapsed on May 9.
*President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Argyll Geducos)*
Marcos said this as he remembered his landslide victory in the elections on May 9, 2022. In an interview with reporters here, the President said reorganizing his Cabinet was a given. "Marami. Talagang gagamitin mo yung one year. Asahan niyo yun (There will be many. You'll really use the one year. You can expect that)," he said on Tuesday evening, May 9. "So, yes, there's still going to be... I don't know about "reshuffle," pero reorganization sa Gabinete (but a reorganization in the Cabinet)," he added. According to President Marcos, the previous year was enough to evaluate his current Cabinet members. He even described their performance as "on-the-job training" (OJT). "By the end of the first year magiging maliwanag in the sense na tapos na yung OJT ng lahat ng tao (it will be clear in the sense that everyone's OJT is over)," he said. "We've seen who performs well and who is-- will be important to what we are doing," he added. President Marcos has yet to complete his Cabinet. So far, the President has yet to name secretaries to permanently lead the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Health (DOH), and National Defense (DND). The President is concurrently heading the DA, while Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire is leading the DOH as its officer-in-charge. For now, the DND is headed by Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr.