Resigned?

Vic Rodriguez’s past misdeeds as Executive Secretary will hound him now that he’s resigned his post.

Did he really resign or was he forced to resign?

Rodriguez, who was head of the campaign team of then presidential candidate Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr., was given a dignified way out with his interim appointment as Presidential Chief of Staff, a non-Cabinet post.

Among the things he would be investigated for are the appointments he made without the knowledge of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

With him out, some bureau directors who were appointed by Rodriguez acting “on behalf of the President” are most probably also on their way out.

An unimpeachable source in Malacañang told this columnist that Rodriguez made so many boo-boos his position as the most powerful Cabinet official had become untenable.

The source said Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian signed the papers to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar upon receiving instructions from Rodriguez.

Sebastian, as well as the entire leadership of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), was dismissed after he took the rap for Rodriguez.

Until his resignation, Sebastian was chief of staff (COS) of the Office of the Agriculture secretary, which was being held in a concurrent capacity by the President. The COS position made Sebastian Mr. Marcos’ representative to the SRA, which is headed by the President as chairman.

Some members of the Senate who investigated Sebastian and the erstwhile members of the SRA Board are probably red in the face. The legislators kicked the wrong people in their butts.

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Another unimpeachable Palace source told this columnist, “I have never seen anyone cling to power like Vic. He actually had the gall to draft his own Special Order giving himself even more powers than that of the ES (executive secretary). He gave (the President) the draft order last night and he (the President) asked JPE (Juan Ponce Enrile, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel) to review the draft. Siyempre (Of course), JPE thumbed it down.”

The draft of the special order was supposed to give the Presidential Chief of Staff the following:

• Granting additional authority to the position, making him even more powerful than the Executive Secretary.

• Constituting the Executive Committee to manage the affairs and operations in the Office of the President.

In rejecting the creation of the office of the presidential chief of staff, Enrile said there was no need to create the position, much less grant it so much power.

Citing the history of several Philippine presidents, Enrile said that by tradition the presidential COS merely assists the President on routine daily functions.

Enrile held several positions in the Cabinet of the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos, among them: justice secretary, finance secretary and minister of national defense.

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Then there are reports, now surfacing, about Rodriguez’s supposed bank accounts here and abroad that suddenly materialized after the election.

The names in the bank accounts are purportedly in the name of Rodriguez and his wife.

Documents show that some of the banks where the Rodriguez couple are supposed to have deposits include Citibank, where the currency deposit is in dollars; Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), in euros; HSBC in Dubai, dirhams and Commercial Bank of Dubai, dirhams.

The huge amounts in the banks seem to give credence to rumors that the erstwhile executive secretary collected P100 million for every appointment to lucrative bureaus.

Some of the appointments reportedly signed by Rodriguez without the knowledge of the President were those of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs, according to my sources in the Palace.

Some questions raised about Rodriguez:

• As of July, 2022, Rodriguez and his wife reportedly had 29 bank accounts and 40 bank accounts worldwide. If true, where did they get all that money?

• The chunks of deposits in the banks mentioned above were supposedly made from December 2021 to July 2022. These accounts should have had the Anti-Money Laundering Council raising red flags. Why was the AMLC silent all this time?

• Where do the revenues of the Sta. Maria Rural Bank Inc., supposedly owned and controlled by Rodriguez’ in-laws, come from?