“With his bold reset, the Marcos administration signals a new face – sharper, faster and fully focused on the people’s pressing needs,” so declared Palace press officer Claire Castro in a news briefing last week.
BBM said the recent May 2025 election results show that Filipinos are “tired of politics” and want more actions from their leaders, acknowledging public disappointment over slow government services in addressing immediate, day-to-day needs.
Two Cabinet officials already relieved, according to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, are DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar. Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo was reassigned as our envoy to the United Nations in New York.
Bersamin was quoted in media reports saying there was the “recurring” perception that reached Malacañang that Loyzaga was always out of the country.
As for Acuzar, Bersamin said he might have set too high a standard for himself, referring to his target of building one million socialized housing units per year.
A Cabinet reshuffle was a favorite move of BBM’s father when faced with electoral setbacks and rising political challenges. This was part of his broader strategy to consolidate power and address the evolving political landscape.
Notably, after one such reshuffle (I recall there were several), BBM’s father appointed technocrats to key positions, to look good to the World Bank, the IMF and other international lenders.
What BBM faces today is a serious erosion of his political capital that’s two-fold: one – something he recognized too – is his administration’s lack of performance which the reshuffle is effectively blaming on some Cabinet members; and two, a deadly political rivalry with the Dutertes whose return in 2028 must not happen for his own safety.
But BBM cannot expect the Cabinet reshuffle to be a cure-all. One big reason why he lost public trust was the butchered 2025 national budget. The public saw it as institutionalizing corruption with a Republic Act, to the detriment of what the country needs.
BBM could have vetoed the offensive provisions and asked Congress to revert to the budget proposal he submitted. His veto was token and insignificant.
As a result, he was seen to have allowed his favorite cousin to relegate funding for vital infrastructure projects and PhilHealth to unprogrammed status to provide fiscal space for pork barrel projects of political allies. The last election reflected growing dismay with corruption.
It doesn’t help that BBM is also being seen as so laid back and seemingly uninterested in addressing the many problems of the country. Unfortunately, many Cabinet members are as laid back as the Boss.
There was failure to quickly respond to emerging issues that eventually became crisis situations as in the case of food inflation and rice prices.
What BBM needs are more hands-on executives like Vince Dizon, a bureaucratic version of Ramon Ang or Ricky Razon. Vince inherited a lot of delayed problem projects. He is now addressing ROW problems and is cancelling contracts for stalled projects like the Common Station. He is also dealing with problematic agencies like the LTO and LTFRB.
Popo Lotilla is a competent lawyer and academician but moving him out of DOE is a good decision. And he should not be replaced by a politician or an academician.
The energy department will be better served by someone from the private business sector with hands-on experience dealing with the problems of getting power plants installed and running through the labyrinth of the government’s faulty regulatory system.
Manny Rubio, formerly of Aboitiz Power and now with Meralco, has practical knowledge of what it will take to assure us of reliable power supply. But I am not sure he wants this personal sacrifice.
Popo is technically competent to handle DENR. But academics like Popo and outgoing DENR Secretary Toni Loyzaga may not have the street smarts required.
DENR’s corrupt bureaucracy is notorious for working with various vested interest groups e.g. illegal loggers and miners. We need a DENR secretary who is not only technically competent but able to instill fear in the agency.
For Education, Sonny Angara is as good as it gets right now. But Sonny must not take on all the responsibility for getting PISA scores up and trying to solve decades old problems. Sonny must actively look for partners, like LGUs, because the job is too big.
LGUs in NCR are financially capable to take on the costs and the responsibility of educating their youth. For example, Makati’s public school system has made commendable strides in academic performance, early education and international assessments.
Internationally, Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School in Makati achieved a notable milestone by being the only public school in Metro Manila to pass Level II (which signifies the minimum skills necessary to apply knowledge in real-life situations) in the 2022 PISA test. Makati’s success is attributed to the city’s strategic investments in infrastructure, innovative programs and comprehensive support for students.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla should be kept if only because he prioritized cleaning up the PNP. His predecessors did not seem to have the nerve to do what must be done in an obviously problematic organization.
Finally, the big lesson of the last election is the importance of health care among the voters. Bong Go topped the senatorial election because he appropriated the Malasakit Centers as his own.
The tragedy is that Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa allowed Duterte’s assistant to use DOH facilities and get credit instead of BBM.
Unfortunately, Secretary Herbosa has also failed to show any initiative and imagination in launching programs to give the impression that BBM, not Bong Go, is very concerned about people’s health. BBM needs a new DOH Secretary.
One other lesson from May 12: do not steal or condone stealing from PhilHealth again.
BBM must be seen doing an honest revamp, not merely shuffling deck chairs in the Titanic. Otherwise, his credibility will further erode.
Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco