Marcos replaces FM, keeps economic team in revamp

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will retain his trade, finance, budget and economic planning ministers but will replace the foreign minister in an overhaul of his cabinet, his executive secretary said on Friday.

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Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced the changes after Marcos had asked all his cabinet secretaries to resign following the government's disappointing performance in midterm elections last week.

“The president decided to retain these five members of the economic team so that there will be no more problems of perception about where the country is going,” Bersamin told a briefing.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo will be replaced by his undersecretary, Theresa Lazaro, who will take the helm from July 31.

Manalo was named as the country's permanent representative to the United Nations.

The environment secretary will be replaced by the energy secretary, Bersamin said, adding the performance review was ongoing and decisions would be announced as they are made.

“More action will be coming,” he said.

The cabinet shake-up is widely seen as Marcos’ attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term after a bruising midterm election and in the wake of falling approval ratings.