MANILA, Philippines — On the campaign trail, then presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered unity as a panacea for the Philippines.
Instead of specifics, a vague concept of unity that was sold to voters, many of whom were still reeling from the unprecedented crisis brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Unity carried Marcos through the 90-day campaign period that ultimately led to his election to Malacañang, where his message of unity still reverberates as he continues to reference it in his speeches here and abroad.
But for two key Malacañang officials, this unity only took them so far as they parted ways with the Marcos administration even before it marked its 100th day in office.
The little president
First, it was Vic Rodriguez, a long-time aide of Marcos who served as his spokesperson during his failed poll protest against former Vice President Leni Robredo and during his successful presidential campaign.
Rumors initially swirled that Rodriguez, who was then serving as executive secretary, would soon be out from Malacañang following the sugar importation mess that he got dragged into but was ultimately cleared from any wrongdoing.
Malacañang denied the rumors, but allowed talk of this to swirl before issuing a statement.
Rodriguez did eventually leave his position, saying in a statement on his Facebook page that he wanted to see how his family “grow and evolve into how every parent would wish them to become.”
In the same statement, he said he was staying on as Marcos’ chief of staff — a position that the public would learn weeks later from Rodriguez’ successor, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, was never approved.
Bersamin’s announcement prompted Rodriguez to issue another statement on Facebook saying that he has “completely exited” the Marcos administration, which he described as a “very personal decision that was happily made,” again citing his wanting to spend time with his family.
The press chief
After Rodriguez’ unceremonious exit from Malacañang came another: This time, it was the turn of Trixie Cruz-Angeles, a lawyer and vlogger who heavily promoted the Marcoses on her social media accounts and a known close associate of the former executive secretary.
Much like the days before Rodriguez’ resignation, Angeles’ vacating the helm of the palace’s communications arm was preceded by heavy rumors that she was bound to be replaced — talk of which was also allowed to spread for hours before she issued a denial.
Days after the rumors surfaced, Angeles said she was resigning due to health reasons, confirming what was said by Malacañang officials led by Bersamin — who in 2016 was one of the Supreme Court magistrates who voted to suspend her from legal practice for three years.
While she mostly remained faithful to her vow that she will be “more sedate” and “more objective” in her duties, she figured in a gaffe where she ended up apologizing for incorrectly claiming that Marcos was the only leader US President Joe Biden spoke to at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
As of writing, her replacement has yet to be named, although several personalities from former President Joseph Estrada’s press secretary Mike Toledo to film director Paul Soriano have been floated.
The appointment process
Beyond Malacañang, another resignation rocked the Marcos administration before its 100th day in power — that of Jose Calida as Commission on Audit chairperson.
Calida, a staunch Marcos loyalist who even campaigned for the president during his bid for the vice presidency in 2016, had left the position after having been on medical leave.
These successive resignations prompted opposition lawmaker Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) to call on Marcos to be “discerning and cautious” in appointing officials.
“When Cabinet secretaries so early in their tenure vacate their posts, either voluntarily or forcibly, then the vetting process on their appointments is grossly wanting,” Lagman said in a statement.
On top of these, parts of the government’s bureaucracy are still running headless.
For one, there is still no health secretary and the department at the core of the government’s response to the still ongoing pandemic is headed only by an officer-in-charge in the person of Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Then, there is still no agriculture chief as Marcos still holds the portfolio of this agency despite calls for him to appoint a permanent secretary over concerns that he might already be swamped with work and would not be able to properly take on the reins of the department.
The bottomline
Observers and analysts say that these movements among the president’s people indicate that power blocs are at play, which is not unusual for recent administrations.
“The period of early presidency is when Malacañang factions try to settle [the] balance of power, and they're free to do so as long as it isn't fatal to the president,” said political scientist Cleve Arguelles on Twitter.
The late President Benigno Aquino III had the “Balay” and “Samar” groups which split the Liberal Party between then-vice presidential bets Mar Roxas and Jejomar Binay, while former President Rodrigo Duterte was split between a group allied with his daughter, Sara Duterte, and another faction close to his longtime aide, Bong Go.
"It's great that this happened during the first 100 days," political analyst Jean Franco told CNN Philippines. “Some people might have really just wanted to be there to help the administration settle.”
Read other explainers on Marcos' first 100 days:
- The first 100 days of Marcos: Where is our transportation heading?
- In first 100 days in office, Marcos kills hopes for Philippines rejoining ICC
- Marcos' 1st 100 days: Still no health chief, eased mask rule
- In charts: The Philippine economy 100 days into Marcos presidency
- How Philippine stocks performed in Marcos' first 100 days