DAVAO CITY – President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s running mate Sen. Alan Cayetano said Sunday that his rival Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is not among the “best and the brightest” following reports that the next Philippine leader might give him a Cabinet post after the one-year ban on losing bets.
While Cayetano said it would be up to Duterte to decide whether he would appoint Marcos, he appeared to have reservations about the former senator joining the incoming administration.
“Our president wants the best and the brightest. It’s up to the president who he would appoint,” he said.
When asked if he thinks Marcos belongs to the “best and the brightest,” Cayetano replied: “It doesn’t matter what I think. You know what I think. It’s what he (Duterte) thinks. He is the appointing authority.”
“Do you think I would challenge him (in the vice presidential race) if he thinks he is among the best and the brightest? But I am not the appointing power,” he added.
Cayetano believes it is still speculative to talk about the events that may happen a year from now.
“If a senator visits him, anyone can speculate whether he will join the Cabinet or not. We’ll never know,” the senator said.
“I will like some of his appointments I may not like the other appointments but I believe in him and I’ll support him all the way.”
Marcos was the subject of Cayetano’s tirades during the campaign period. He attacked Marcos’s alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam as well as the ill-gotten wealth of his family.
Both Marcos and Cayetano lost to Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo. Marcos, however, is planning to file an election protest this month. Under the law, a losing candidate cannot be named to a government post for one year.
Last Friday, Marcos and Duterte met at a roadside bar here and discussed among other things a possible cabinet post for the outgoing senator.
“We talked about a little bit about what will happen now but there are no details yet,” Marcos said.
The outgoing senator said he is open to a cabinet post because it would allow him to serve the public.