Rodriguez vows to continue supporting Marcos government

MANILA, Philippines — Former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez yesterday confirmed that he is no longer part of the Marcos Cabinet even as he vowed to continue supporting the administration as a private individual.

Rodriguez, a former Marcos campaign spokesman, announced last month that he was stepping down as executive secretary but was staying on as presidential chief of staff, a post abolished by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Office of the Press Secretary had said the post of presidential chief of staff would be revived through Administrative Order No. 1.

However, Rodriguez’s successor Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told reporters last Tuesday that Marcos has not signed AO 1.

“I confirm that I have completely exited the administration of President Bongbong Marcos, after having spoken to him at length about my wish to spend most of my time with my family... a very personal decision that was happily made,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

He also explained his continued silence on matters related to his previous post, saying all communications that have transpired between the President and himself are “absolutely privileged.”

He vowed to honor the privileged communication with Marcos “in full recognition of and respect to both the Office of the President and the Office of the Executive Secretary.”

“I have been ridiculed, maligned and subjected to baseless and unfair commentaries on all conceivable platforms, but I take solace in the legal aphorism, ‘Men in public life may suffer under a hostile or unjust accusation; the wound can be assuaged with the balm of a clear conscience,’” he added.

Rodriguez said he would continue serving the country as a private citizen.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile had opposed the proposal to resurrect the post of presidential chief of staff, saying it would “cause duplication and overlapping of functions, confusion and even inevitable rifts among the different offices under the President.”