Trial balloons

More than a week after the reset in governance was announced, it has yet to get traction despite so much public expectation it generated. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) lowered the boom on all of his bureaucrats half-way through his six-year term in office. Smarting from the results of the May 12 elections – when only half of his administration-backed senatorial slate won – PBBM’s “resign all” directive ensued.

But the first round of the promised “drastic changes” did not start well for the much vaunted Cabinet shake-up.

“In the exigency of service, and in line with the President’s directives for a thorough performance review,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin sent out the marching orders for the submission of “unqualified courtesy resignation” of all presidential appointees from the Cabinet rank down to sub-Cabinet level.

“By authority of the President,” Bersamin called “for immediate and strict compliance” by all officials from the rank of Department Secretaries, all Cabinet-ranked officials who included Presidential Advisers/Assistants and other heads of agencies.

Subsequently, the Executive Secretary announced PBBM retained five of his Cabinet economic team while three other Cabinet members were merely transferred to other posts.

Signed on Wednesday (May 21), the memo goes all the way down to the bureau level, which is equivalent to sub-Cabinet rank.

The “resign all” order of PBBM was released to media early morning Thursday. Immediately that day, Cabinet officials announced one after the other their compliance with the presidential directive. But apparently, a number of other PBBM appointees did not get the memo. For one, Presidential Adviser on Muslim Affairs Al Tillah, who I bumped into at the 77th Independence Day of Israel reception held Thursday night, was surprised to learn about it from me. “I was invited by the President himself (to join his government). So why should I resign?” Al Tillah retorted.

As of Friday’s announcement by Bersamin of the first batch of who’s in and who’s out, only 52 Cabinet members and officials had submitted their courtesy resignations.

But come to think of it, PBBM already started changes in his Cabinet team as early as January this year. Actually, it has been the tradition of a sitting President to conduct annual audit performance of department secretaries. Having covered Malacañang Palace for almost two decades, it had become a yearly routine exercise of presidential prerogative. And this leads to the unceremonious exit of Cabinet officials who fail the performance review.

The first round of Cabinet changes started really with the resignation on Feb. 13 of former Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Jaime Bautista “for health reasons.” PBBM named Vivencio “Vince” Dizon as his new DOTr secretary on Feb. 21. Then Presidential Communications Office (PCO) secretary Cesar Chavez quietly left Malacañang. PBBM named on Feb. 24 former broadcaster Jay Ruiz as his new PCO head. And on March 20, PBBM appointed Henry Aguda as his new secretary of the Department of Information and Communications (DICT), vice Ivan Uy.

Notwithstanding further Cabinet changes, leaders of the Commission on Appointments (CA) declared they will proceed with the confirmation hearings of three new Cabinet appointees of PBBM. The 25-man bicameral body chaired by the Senate president has set the confirmation hearings on June 3, or a day after both chambers of the 19th Congress resume their sessions.

Despite being newly appointed to his post, Dizon was the first to submit to Malacañang his courtesy resignation. Barely warming her seat as the new head of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan tendered her courtesy resignation. Caunan took over from former OWWA head, former actor Arnel Ignacio, who is now under investigation for the alleged anomalous P1.4-billion land deal while he was head of this agency.

Until further notice from Malacañang, it will be a long waiting game for the rest of the many Cabinet officials concerned.

Thus, for the past few days we have been receiving at the news desk a lot of testimonials from various groups and organizations, either lauding incumbent Cabinet officials or opposing the new appointees.

A press statement of “unwavering support” for Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Anton Lagdameo was issued to Malacañang media yesterday, attesting to his role in the government’s peace process in Mindanao. Lagdameo is being credited for his work in bridging the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to the national leadership.

In a statement, Ustadz Abdulkarim Tan Misuari, vice chairman and concurrent acting chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), vouched for Lagdameo in strengthening institutional ties between the national government and the BARMM. “In this period of political transition, we urge the preservation of continuity and wisdom within the President’s circle of advisers. The ongoing peace process in the Bangsamoro requires steady hands and trusted allies. Secretary Lagdameo is one of them,” Misuari attested.

To his credit, even fellow Cabinet official, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., has only high praises for Lagdameo’s giving the peace process in Mindanao the attention it deserves from PBBM.

Unfortunately for Lagdameo, he is apparently being taken to task for the sorry loss of PBBM’s Senate ticket in Mindanao. However, the results of the local elections last May 12 at the BARMM, particularly Maguindanao Sur and Norte, spoke well for Lagdameo’s efforts to win them over in voting for the Marcos administration bets.

After all, Lagdameo was formerly Davao del Norte congressman before he joined the Marcos Cabinet. As such, the SAP has lots of friends among the political leaders and rabid supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Like his immediate predecessor, ex-Duterte SAP and now Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Lagdameo is deeply rooted in Mindanao. Lagdameo’s close ties with the DDS (diehard Duterte supporters) was seen as an advantage for neutralizing possible adverse issues against administration policies.

And that’s why many aspirants have cast moist eyes on positions in PBBM’s Cabinet are jockeying to get into action. Expect more trial balloons floating all over the place.