Reset

DEMAND AND SUPPLY

- BOO CHANCO

“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.