Marcos Jr.’s cabinet officials take oath at Malacañang
MANILA, Philippines — Following the inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his selected team of executives are also set to begin their term in office.
Despite an incomplete Cabinet, with some secretaries of executive departments yet to be named, officials chosen to serve as Marcos Jr.’s alter ego in key sectors already took their oath of office at the Malacañang on Thursday.
"I suppose this is the first act of actual work that we will be doing for this administration," Marcos said as he led his newly appointed Cabinet members during the oath-taking ceremony.
The following officials were sworn in:
- Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella
- Secretary of Budget and Management Amenah Pangandaman
- Vice President Sara Duterte, education secretary
- Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno
- Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy
- Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr.
- Justice Secretary Crispin "Boying" Remulla
- Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvendo Laguesma
- Secretary of Migrant Workers Susan "Toots" Ople
- Defense Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr., who will be acting department head
- Public Works and Highways Secretary Manny Bonoan
- Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo
- Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco
- Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual
- Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista
- Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan
- Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez
- Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles
Juan Ponce Enrile, who was in the Cabinet of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and appointed as chief presidential legal counsel, did not make it to the president’s inauguration after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Marcos Jr. said he would head the agriculture department himself for now to tackle issues such as rising commodity prices and food supply issues.
He also appointed the following to their respective offices:
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla
- Bureau of Internal Revenue Deputy Commissioner for Operations Romeo Lumagui Jr.
- Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Lilia Guillermo
- Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairperson Cheloy Garafil
- Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairperson Silvestre Bello III
- Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo
- Presidential Management Staff Secretary Naida Angping
- National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos
- Solicitor General Menardo Guevara
- Philippine Ports Authority Christopher Pastrana
- Civil Service Commission Karlo Alexei Nograles
- Commission on Audit Chairperson Jose Calida
- Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo 'Wick' Veloso
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Ricardo de Leon
Marcos Jr. begins his presidency with secretaries to the following agencies yet to be named:
- Department of Science and Technology
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Foreign Affairs
- Department of Health
- Department of Energy
When asked in a press briefing on Wednesday, Cruz-Angeles said Marcos Jr.’s team is still deliberating officials who will lead agencies such as DFA, the DOH, and the DOE.
"Sinusuri pa kasi nila as you know, nagtalaga tayo ng applications process at tsaka mayroong proseso para sa pag-e-evaluate dahil nga, sinasabi niyo mahalaga ‘yung mga position na ito. Hindi ito pwedeng madaliin ‘yung proseso," Cruz-Angeles said.
(They are still in the middle of evaluations becase as you know, we have an application process and there is also a process for evaluation because, like you said, these positions are important. This process cannot be rushed.)
The newly inaugurated president took his time naming prospective Cabinet officials. The slow pace of the formation of his economic team even sparked investor jitters as they had no clue then of who will be inheriting the task of leading the country's post-pandemic economic recovery.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
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