Noy's Cabinet headaches down to one

Manila, Philippines - President Aquino said he is “very satisfied” with the performance of most of his Cabinet members, except for one who may be transferred to another agency.

“For the most part, I am very, very satisfied with most of them. A lot of them have been really self-motivating, self-actualizing,” he said in an interview yesterday at the Aguinaldo Hall where Cabinet meetings are usually held.

He said earlier that he is displeased with the performance of three Cabinet members. Yesterday, however, he said he is only having problems with one.

In yesterday’s interview, Aquino commended the efforts of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman for the preparation for the landfall of tropical storm “Falcon” and PAGASA Undersecretary Graciano Yumul for the accurate weather forecast. 

He was also pleased with the performance of his economic team because of the credit upgrade received by the country and the billions of pesos in savings funneled into social services. 

Aquino did not name the Cabinet member with whom he is having problems.

“I will not appoint them if I don’t think they have high qualifications,” he said. “However, I will talk to one of them and if we do not reach an agreement, I think I will give him a different assignment.”

There were speculations that Customs commissioner Angelito Alvarez will be reassigned but Aquino specified that the erring official is a member of the Cabinet.

“You are asking about the Cabinet. Customs is not a Cabinet rank,” he said. 

The Bureau of Customs is an agency of the Department of Finance which is headed by Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Aquino reaped criticism for saying that the three Cabinet members may be dismissed from their positions for bringing him bad news.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda immediately pointed out that Aquino was referring to “incompetence” in their jobs.

Alvarez said he is not distracted by reports that he would be dismissed from his post.                                                                

He said, however, that like any presidential appointee, he serves “at the pleasure of the President.”                           

Alvarez has just returned from a meeting organized by the World Customs Organization overseas. While he was away, Elizabeth Lee announced her resignation as president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and chief operating officer of Universal Motors Corp. Lee’s resignation fueled speculations that she would replace Alvarez at the BOC.                                                                  

Alvarez said that almost every Customs commissioner experiences intrigues of being removed from office, the bureau being one of the most controversial in government because of the revenues involved. Last week, Purisima said he continues to work with both Alvarez and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares. This year, the BIR is mandated to collect P940 billion while the BOC has been assigned a revenue goal of P320 billion. – With Iris Gonzales, Christina Mendez