Will there be another Cabinet shake-up?

If the grapevine buzz is to be believed, two Cabinet secretaries, now finding themselves at the center of intrigues and corruption allegations, may soon be moved or removed.

- IRIS GONZALES

Of course, we never really know until it happens, and if and when it really does become reality.

What is clear is that nobody is safe in the Marcos administration these days. You can be sitting comfortably in your office working, or at the Senate defending the budget process, and suddenly you get a call from someone more powerful than you, and then boom! You’re out.

Actually, even before this flood control mess erupted, we've seen sudden changes already since Marcos became president in 2022, with many in government suddenly thrown under the bus after delivering what was needed from them.

Take former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III, for instance, who months after putting Rody Duterte on a plane to The Hague, suddenly found himself sacked.

And then there’s the flood control mess. With the House of Marcos under siege because of the corruption scandal, we saw the sudden exit of “Little President” Lucas Bersamin as executive secretary and Amenah Pangandamanas the Budget department chief two weeks ago.

Both Bersamin and Pangandaman were implicated by former lawmaker Zaldy Co in the budget insertion controversy, alleging that the budget secretary personally contacted him, requesting, the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects in the bicameral conference committee. She denied the allegations. Bersamin, too, was said to have been involved but denied it.

Malacañang insists they resigned their posts out of delicadeza, although Bersamin had said he did not resign, while Pangandaman supposedly resigned — strangely, just minutes after defending the budget at the Senate last Nov. 17, with members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee in attendance.