Palace: No Cabinet revamp for now but 'we have to wait and see'

A Cabinet revamp is not happening at the moment, Malacañang said, but hinted that President Marcos is still evaluating if there is a need to.

"As of now, wala pa (none). It’s still under evaluation; wala pa pong nangyayaring pagtatanggal, transition, transfer of position – wala pa po (No firing, no transition, no transfer of position are happening right now)," Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

Castro, however, disclosed that the President is still evaluating if there is a need for a change of leadership in each department.

"The President is still evaluating if there’s a need for a change of leaders in each department. So, wala pa po tayo; under evaluation pa po lahat (So, there is none so far, we are all still under evaluation)," she said when asked whether Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy will be replaced.

She also addressed the rumor that there has been a change of leadership in the Presidential Security Command (PSC), saying PSC commander Nelson Morales remains as the head of the command.

The Palace official did not elaborate on the supposed evaluation of Cabinet posts, saying "we just have to wait and see."

"As of now, ang pagkakasabi po sa atin ay nag-e-evaluate pa. So, kung kailan matatapos, hindi natin din alam kung magkakaroon talaga ng revamp (we were told that the evaluation is underway. We do not know when will it be finished, we do not know if there will indeed be a revamp)," she said.

"So, we have to just wait and see. Hindi pa po natin alam kung ano po iyong mangyayari (We do not know what may happen) as of now," she went on.

Castro also noted that the President is regularly evaluating the Cabinet officials to see whether they are doing well for the government and the people.

She also cited that the recent changes in the Marcos Cabinet were due to resignations.

"Siguro lahat po ngayon kasi every time kailangan namang mag-evaluate ng Pangulo, e kung ang kanyang (The President needs to evaluate every time if his) secretaries, Cabinet members are doing well for the government, for the people. So, kapag nakita po ng Pangulo na 'Oops, mukhang hindi ito makakatulong' e, ‘di (So, when the President sees that this official is no longer of help) we have to find a new leader and it’s for the people. Pero as of now, wala pa po talaga (there is really none)," Castro said.

"Kapag lang po siguro may nakitang dapat na palitan or may mga nag-resign. May mga nagri-resign (Maybe if someone resigns that needs to be replaced. There were resignations),  we cannot do anything about that," she added.

Former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) secretary Cesar Chavez and former Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Jaime Bautista recently stepped down from their Cabinet positions.