Did everyone get the memo?

One of the hardest parts of the job of an Executive Secretary in the Office of the President (OP) is handing out pink slips to government officials, especially fellow Cabinet members.

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

Since the Executive Secretary is the so-called "Little President," he is considered "primus inter pares," or first among equals of all other Cabinet-ranked officials.

But handing down the most difficult decisions while he headed the Supreme Court, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin may have already steeled himself in serving the notice of termination of presidential appointees.

So a day after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PBBM) asked for the courtesy resignation of all department secretaries and all Cabinet-ranked officials including presidential advisers/assistants and heads of agencies, the Executive Secretary was among the first few who got through the gauntlet unscathed.

It was thus the task of Bersamin to announce who were fired, retained or transferred to another government post.

The 78-year-old former Chief Magistrate is actually the second executive secretary to serve PBBM.

Erstwhile executive secretary Vic Rodriguez stepped down from his job.

Rodriguez run but lost as opposition senatorial candidate in the just concluded May 12 national and local elections.

Unlike his predecessor, Bersamin proudly announced PBBM reiterated his trust and confidence in him as his alter ego.

Thus, Bersamin dismissed as mere "heckling" and "all talk" what Rodriguez has been dishing out against PBBM.

Bersamin likened Rodriguez to a "dog barking at the fence."

The Executive Secretary fumed: "Why was he taken out of office in less than three months?"

During his podcast last Monday, PBBM strongly hinted of drastic, if not dramatic, changes in his administration following the results of the midterm elections.