Solgen replaced; Gibo, 2 Remullas retained

Menardo Guevarra is out as solicitor general while Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, his brother Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro will remain in the Cabinet.

- BY ALEXIS ROMERO

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who announced the second phase of the "bold reset" in the administration, said President Marcos also accepted the resignation of J.

Prospero de Vera III as head of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Guevarra, who served as justice secretary of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was replaced by University of the Philippines College of Law dean Darlene Marie Berberabe, who took her oath yesterday.

De Vera, who had served as higher education chief for seven years, will be replaced by CHED Commissioner Shirley Agrupis.

Bersamin said the resignations form part of a "rigorous and ongoing evaluation of government performance not only at the Cabinet level but across the entire bureaucracy."

"The people expect results and the President has no patience for underperformance," Bersamin said at a press briefing yesterday.

"Each resignation accepted is based on a careful assessment of whether the standards set by the President for efficiency and leadership have been met. Some have delivered, others have not," Bersamin added.

He said the President accepted Guevarra's resignation "to allow for fresh blood to come in."

"SolGen Guevarra has been there since the beginning and maybe it is time for him to go to another venture," he said.

Bersamin clarified that Guevarra's refusal to take part in the petitions challenging the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Duterte had nothing to do with the acceptance of his resignation.

"I don't think that was a factor at all because if you recall, there was a strong clamor for the termination or removal of Solicitor General Guevarra at the time. The public perception that gave rise to this clamor must have been about his taking the opposite side of the issue.

But, you know, he and the President had a conversation about this, and the President respected his ethical decision to recuse," he said.