Trial balloons

COMMONSENSE

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

More than a week after the reset in governance was announced, it has yet to get traction despite so much public expectation it generated. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PBBM) lowered the boom on all of his bureaucrats half-way through his six-year term in office. Smarting from the results of the May 12 elections — when only half of his administration-backed senatorial slate won — PBBM's "resign all" directive ensued.

But the first round of the promised "drastic changes" did not start well for the much-vaunted Cabinet shake-up.

"In the exigency of service, and in line with the President's directives for a thorough performance review," Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin sent out the marching orders for the submission of "unqualified courtesy resignation" of all presidential appointees from the Cabinet rank down to sub-Cabinet level.

"By authority of the President," Bersamin called "for immediate and strict compliance" by all officials from the rank of Department Secretaries, all Cabinet-ranked officials who included Presidential Advisers/Assistants and other heads of agencies.

Subsequently, the Executive Secretary announced PBBM retained five of his Cabinet economic team while three other Cabinet members were merely transferred to other posts.

Signed on Wednesday (May 21), the memo goes all the way down to the bureau level, which is equivalent to sub-Cabinet rank.