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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider Marcos economic team upheaval sparks questions on accountability

Marcos economic team upheaval sparks questions on accountability

Published Nov 18, 2025 11:20 am  |  Updated Nov 18, 2025 03:34 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., new Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and new Finance Secretary Frederick Go were photographed together inside the Malacañan Palace on Jan. 12, 2024 when they were first introduced as part of the Cabinet. (MB FILE PHOTO)
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., new Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and new Finance Secretary Frederick Go were photographed together inside the Malacañan Palace on Jan. 12, 2024 when they were first introduced as part of the Cabinet. (MB FILE PHOTO)
The Marcos Jr. administration’s economic team has undergone a recent reshuffle, with resignations and new appointments appearing to serve as a swift response to emerging allegations of irregularities involving senior Cabinet officials, according to private-sector economists.
“While resignations and new appointments seem to characterize the anomalies-ridden administration, one can interpret this as a quick response to more allegations of irregularities involving senior cabinet officials,” Diwa C. Guinigundo, the Philippines analyst at New York-based macroeconomic and geopolitical research and analysis firm GlobalSource Partners, told Manila Bulletin on Monday night, Nov. 17.
Guinigundo, who’s a former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) deputy governor, emphasized that a stronger signal of genuine anti-corruption efforts would be ensuring that these resignations are not treated as the end of the cases, stressing that accountability and justice must still be pursued.
“The ICI can more quickly process and build their investigations into solid cases to prosecute corruption and plunder of public money and release a respectable roadmap of how the government intends to address the problem and prevent the erosion of confidence and trust among our business community and the rest of our people,” Guinigundo added, referring to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure formed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to investigate “ghost” and substandard flood control projects.
Amid a deepening corruption scandal, the Marcos Jr. administration has seen a shake-up in its economic team, with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman resigning “out of delicadeza” over their offices’ links to alleged flood control irregularities and national budget insertions, respectively.
The President has appointed former Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto as the new Executive Secretary, replacing Bersamin, while Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Frederick D. Go assumes the role of DOF chief.
Career official Rolando U. Toledo will serve as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the DBM.
Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., emphasized that keeping the economic team intact amid a Cabinet shake-up sends a clear signal: “Marcos is betting on continuity to calm markets.”
However, Ravelas pointed out that with the corruption scandal worsening and public confidence declining, “stability on paper won’t be enough. Investors want accountability, not just familiar faces.”
“Secretary Recto signaled prioritization of good governance reforms,” said Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), highlighting the Secretary’s two decades of experience in fiscal and other reform initiatives.
“If anti-corruption measures and higher governance standards are taken seriously, just like 10 to 15 years ago, then these should be good for the local economy and financial markets,” he added.
(Ricardo M. Austria)
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