President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has accepted the courtesy resignations of at least 17 officials from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), as announced by Malacañang on Tuesday.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed to reporters the significant changes within the PCO, including the “voluntary” resignation of Senior Undersecretary Ana Puod for “personal” reasons. “Sa ating pagkakaalam po, sa PCO po ay 17 ang natanggap ang courtesy resignations (To our knowledge, the courtesy resignations of 17 [officials] from PCO have been accepted),” Castro stated.
The performance of government undersecretaries is currently under evaluation as part of ongoing efforts to recalibrate the Marcos administration. Castro clarified that there is no directive from Marcos for any undersecretaries to submit their courtesy resignations, despite being under probation. “Sa mga usec (undersecretary) po kasi, wala naman pong direktiba na kami ay maghain ng courtesy resignation. Depende na lang po sa Pangulo kung ang mga usec, asec (Assistant Secretary) at ibang mga director ay hindi tumatalima sa direktiba ng Pangulo. ‘Yun po ay maaaring matanggal (As for the usecs, there is no directive for us to file a courtesy resignation. It is up to the President if the usecs, asecs, and other directors do not comply with the President’s directive. They can be dismissed),” she explained.
Castro noted that the terms of around 27 officials in government have also “expired,” but she did not provide additional details regarding these officials.
When asked if a list of vacant positions in the PCO would be released, Castro mentioned that she would consult the agency’s reappointed acting secretary, Jay Ruiz. In addition to Ruiz, Marcos also reappointed Henry Aguda as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. However, Aguda’s and Ruiz’s appointments were deemed bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, as Congress adjourned sine die on June 13.
Castro echoed Marcos’ warning to government officials who are not performing adequately. “Ang sabi ng Pangulo, may mga ahensiyang nagbibigay ng report pero kapag tinignan mo, hindi tama. So, kung ito man ay hindi tama at intentionally done, hindi po magiging maganda ang lagay ng nasabing opisyal (The President said that there are agencies that provide reports but when you look at them, they are not correct. So, if this is incorrect and intentionally done, the situation of the said official will not be good),” she stated.
“Hindi na po tayo magbabanggit kung anumang departamento o ahensiya pero kapag hindi na-explain ng mabuti kung bakit hindi tugma ang kaniyang report sa katotohanan, ay maaari po siguro siyang pagbuksan ng pinto (We will not mention any department or agency, but if he does not explain well why his report does not match the truth, then maybe the door is open [for him to go]),” she added.