Transportation, DICT chiefs keep posts

Metro Manila, Philippines - Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and Information and Communications Technology chief Henry Aguda said they are staying in the Cabinet amid a shakeup that has seen a number of officials replaced.

“I did get a call from the executive secretary that the president did not accept my resignation,” Dizon said during his confirmation hearing before the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) on June 3.

Aguda made a similar statement.

“I received a call from the executive secretary telling me that my resignation was declined by the president,” he said.

He said he received the call on May 23, a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the courtesy resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries to re-calibrate his administration.

Dizon and Aguda responded to Senator Joel Villanueva, who asked whether they had received clearance from Malacañang to face the CA - an indication that they would not be removed from their posts.

“Otherwise, sayang naman ito [this is all a waste],” Villanueva said.

The panel approved Dizon’s appointment and endorsed it for plenary approval.

The hearing stretched over three hours, focusing on various transportation issues, prompting the CA to suspend Aguda’s proceedings for lack of time.

The CA has until next week to confirm their ad interim appointments - done while Congress was in recess- before the sine die adjournment of the 19th Congress. Otherwise, they will be deemed bypassed and must be reappointed by the president.

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Jay Ruiz, who also faced the CA, could not definitively say whether his resignation had been declined.

“When I asked Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin what he told me was just focus on your job and continue with it because we have not withdrawn your appointment,” Ruiz said.

In a chance interview with reporters, Ruiz said this conversation happened on Wednesday, May 27.

Asked if this means he is staying in the Cabinet, Ruiz replied, “You are only deemed resigned if the president accepts your resignation.”