The countdown is on as the expiration of the one-year ban on appointing officials who ran (and lost) in the 9 May 2022 national elections draws near.
The 1987 Constitution provides that no candidate who lost in any election shall be appointed to any office in the government or any government-owned or controlled corporation or any of their subsidiaries within one year after the election. In other words, in a month or so, we shall see the true Cabinet of President Bongbong Marcos Jr., and we can smell the politicking from this side of town.
In last year’s elections, the BBM-Sara ticket had some notable personalities who gave their hearts and souls to the campaign but unfortunately fell short of winning. The nation saw how their senatorial candidates sang and danced before thousands in their campaign sorties. We can expect these guys to be rewarded with handsome appointments to their desired offices. However, only a handful of vacant positions remain to be filled. The question now should be, who will be removed or replaced leading up to the expiration of the election ban?
Early in the administration of President Marcos Jr., we saw a shuffling of appointed officers mainly due to the ruckus caused by the short-lived stay of Atty. Vic Rodriguez. In the aftermath, appointees were removed and replaced, and slowly we saw the preferred officers receive their official and legitimate appointment papers, some of whom are still warming their seats. But if we review how President Marcos Jr. chose his Cabinet officials, we see objectivity and a preference for experience and technical knowledge. Gone are the days, nearly, of appointments based on loyalty and political ties.
In the next wave of appointments, we can safely assume that these will be based more on politics, but there are certain candidates whose credibility and competence are unquestioned. An outlier candidate for a choice position who will be eligible soon is Gilbert Teodoro, a one-time candidate for president of the Philippines under the party of then-outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Teodoro is a shoo-in for any position given his brilliance and experience.
In the next weeks, there might be loyalty checks on the current Cabinet officials to see if they remain fit for their designations. News items on officials resigning due to health reasons, or taking leaves to pursue personal matters, would be cropping up more often than usual. This should give the President more leeway in crafting the most appropriate set of officers, given his leadership style and how they will best harmonize with the people close to him. It is noteworthy as well that the barangay elections, after a long hiatus, will be pushing through later this year, thereby opening a fresh round of changes in the local government units.
While we may consider the administration to be in its early stages, the honeymoon period is over. Our President has put a stop to his foreign trips, focusing more on governance and bringing his agenda to fruition. As President, he is faced with countless issues non-stop daily. The plate will always be full, and he should be armed with a Cabinet that is both loyal and competent, at the same time. Sometimes, the most loyal ones are not the sharpest tools in the shed and may cause burgeoning problems later. We pray for thorough discernment on our President’s part in deciding who his new Cabinet will be.
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