Cabinet appointments questioned

A SENATOR on Tuesday has called on the administration questioned the composition of the Cabinet, calling out President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for appointing 40% of the Cabinet members in acting capacity.

“Despite our recognition of the President’s power to appoint acting secretaries, it would be better to have only one or two secretaries in acting capacity, not half of the cabinet,” Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos said in an ambush interview on Tuesday.

In her manifestation during a plenary session, Ms. Marcos named 18 Cabinet-level members whose names have yet to be submitted by the President to the Commission on Appointments for appointment consent.

Among the acting officials mentioned by Ms. Marcos were Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave M. Gomez, Public Works Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez, Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go, Budget Secretary Rolando U. Toledo, and Environment Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna, among others.

Aside from the secretaries, Ms. Marcos also noted that six board members of the Bases Conversion, and Development Authority have been appointed for more than one year, with some appointed since 2023.

“Temporary designations are not meant to extend indefinitely and, as a rule, should merely persist from six months to a year. Some of these acting appointments are now nearing that period; some are in great excess of that period,” Ms. Marcos added, citing the Executive Order No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel