No room for complacency, Cabinet under continuing evaluation – Palace

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro (PNA file photo)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday said all Cabinet officials will continue to undergo performance evaluation even after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has retained several key officials in the ongoing recalibration of his administration.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a Palace briefing that Marcos’ acceptance or rejection of courtesy resignations from Cabinet members does not mark the end of the process.

“Nais nating ipabatid, hindi po natatapos sa pagsisilbi ng mga courtesy resignation, sa mga pagtanggap at pagtanggi rito ng Pangulo – may natanggal, may nanatili (We want to make it clear that it does not end with the submission of courtesy resignations or the President’s decision to accept or reject them – some were removed, others remained),” Castro said.

“Sa mga nanatili, nasa kanila pa rin po ang tiwala ng Pangulo ngunit hindi ibig sabihin ay dapat maging kampante (Those who remained still hold the President’s trust, but that does not mean they should be complacent).”

The Palace official said a “continuing performance evaluation” will be carried out.

“There will be a continuing performance evaluation. They will always be on notice because they serve at the pleasure of the President,” she said.

The President has recently ordered a series of assessments of his Cabinet as part of a broader administrative recalibration. While some officials were retained, others were replaced based on performance and alignment with the administration’s priorities.

Last week, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, among the first to be retained, announced the third phase of the “bold reset” in the administration’s ongoing performance evaluation where the majority of the Cabinet was retained.

However, he said the evaluation process is still ongoing, including for officials below Cabinet rank.

Bersamin even hinted that more courtesy resignations will be accepted soon.

“If you are asking for blood, there will still be blood,” Bersamin said.

“We are still undertaking continuing performance evaluations… I assure you that this is a very sweeping and thorough evaluation being made by the President and the panel of his choice.

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