Cabinet curios

The call by the president for his Cabinet members to resign was an unusually pleasant surprise.

Fresh from the mid-term elections, which everyone else plus conventional thinking has been proclaiming to be a referendum on his performance (but I don’t really agree with that analysis), the president has just asked his own appointees to tender their resignations.

Purportedly, this exercise is a performance review. Which department secretary was able to deliver results? Which appointee disappointed? Those who did not deliver will be summarily replaced, no hard feelings. As they themselves acknowledge, they serve at the pleasure of the president.

The pundits have it that this is the time when the president can appoint his own favorites, and those whom he previously appointed as repayment for favors obtained during his election can now be dispensed with. The thinking is, he has already paid his debt of gratitude, and now he can put in whom he wants.

As of the writing of this piece, pretty much everyone is still in limbo, with only his economic ministers being retained. Only a handful’s resignations have been accepted. Of those shown the door, it was Environment Secretary Loyzaga that was notable. Her position has been given to Energy Secretary Popo Lotilla, whose position is now open for jockeying amongst interested energy players.

Which power oligarch will succeed in having his nominee installed as secretary of Energy? We shall find out pretty soon. What is more relevant for Cebu is the fate of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. Will she be reappointed? Or will her resignation be accepted?

Is it simply a matter of how her performance in the Tourism sector has pleased the president? Or will other extraneous factors come into play? That is the red herring spurring gossip, especially now that her mother, Governor Gwen Garcia, failed to retain her seat. Gwen’s re-election campaign fell short against challenger Pam Baricuatro, an entirely new face in local politics.

The talk then, three years ago during Marcos’ own presidential election campaign, was that Gwen Garcia delivered a million Cebuano votes to Marcos. The Garcia family had a lock on Cebu, not just the province, but in various cities. As a consequence, the appointment of Christina Frasco to the Tourism post came as no surprise.

But now, the vaunted strength of the Garcias in Cebu seems to have been undercut by the seeming popularity of the Dutertes amongst the local electorate. The voters’ allegiance to Duterte, and hence, his endorsed candidate Baricuatro, seems to have been stronger than their loyalty to the local political giants. That will not be viewed favorably by Bongbong Marcos.

Will he now cut the ties to the Garcia family by appointing another Tourism secretary? Regardless of how it will be spun, like whether Frasco herself has begged off or whether she will be handed an alternative post, that will still be taken by some as a slap to the face. Plus also, an indicator of how little utility the family is viewed as serving for the next election cycle.

For the Marcos family cluster will now be focused on how to retain their power during the next elections. For jaded observers, these new appointees will serve only one function --not to serve the public, but to perpetuate the family dynasty. And those given seats at the table should only fulfill that ultimate goal.

When the appointment announcements come over the next few days, we will have a clearer view of who are deemed essential to be kept close. Hopefully, those kept by the Marcos side are there because of trust, and not because of the adage, “keep your enemies closer.”

Interesting times, indeed.