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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
June 3, 2025 | 5:08pm
First Cabinet meeting of the year held at the Malacañan Palace on Jan. 7, 2025.
Bongbong Marcos via Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos has decided to keep most of his high-ranking Cabinet secretaries, including Transport Secretary Vince Dizon, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel.
Earlier in the day, Dizon and Information and Technology Secretary Henry Aguda confirmed that Marcos had declined their resignations.
Hours later, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced the full list of secretaries whose courtesy resignations were declined.
- Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel
- Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella II
- DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara
- TESDA chief Kiko Benitez
- Labor Secretary Benny Laguesma
- Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian
- Health Secretary Teddy Herbosa
- Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac
- Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr.
- Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco
- Information and Communications Secretary Henry Aguda
- Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon
- Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan
- Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile
- MMDA Chair Don Artes
- Mindanao Development Authority chief Leo Magno
- Presidential Management Staff Sec. Elaine Masukat
- Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Concerns Antonio Cerilles
- Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Romeo Lumagui
- Customs chief Bienvenido Rubio
- Treasurer of the Philippines Sharon Almanza
“This is not a purge, you must understand that. That's why we went through the courtesy resignation as a means of implementing this reorganization,” Bersamin said.
This does not mean, however, that those who are retained now will stay there forever, Bersamin said. The secretaries are still expected to deliver on the president’s orders.
Marcos called for the courtesy resignations of his Cabinet secretaries in a bid to reassemble his team following a dismal performance in the 2025 midterm elections. The administration slate performed poorly in the recent elections, with only six of 11 senatorial candidates securing a seat in the 20th Congress.
Among the first wave of resignations to be declined were the president’s economic team, which includes the secretaries of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (formerly the National Economic and Development Authority).
Marcos has also retained chiefs from the security cluster, namely the Department of Justice, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of National Defense.
