Who’s in, who’s out in the Cabinet musical chairs

In what could be a signal of new Cabinet shake-up, former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Raphael Lotilla was named to become the new Philippine ambassador to the Holy See. Lotilla will succeed Ambassador Grace Ragenia Macahilig as the head of the Philippine Embassy at the Vatican since November 2021. Macahilig will assume her new post as ambassador to South Africa next month.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) issued the latest appointment of Lotilla last Friday. PBBM named a very qualified senior DENR Undersecretary Juan Miguel “Mitch” Cuna to serve as “acting” Secretary. According to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, PBBM picked Cuna as “acting” DENR Secretary for his long-standing service with the agency.

Cuna has been with the DENR since 2008, initially serving as a provincial environment and natural resources officer. He was later appointed director in 2010, then rose through the ranks to become “acting” Secretary in 2017. Cuna was previously the director of legal affairs at the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office from 1998 to 2001.

Castro clarified Lotilla did not resign and was not asked to resign. Of course, Lotilla submitted his courtesy resignation during the first Cabinet revamp undertaken by PBBM while he was then Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary. PBBM moved Lotilla to replace DENR Secretary Maria Yulo-Loyzaga on May 21 last year, or just nine months ago. It was the first-ever Cabinet revamp of PBBM in the middle of his six-year term of office at Malacanang.

Fast forward. Castro announced Lotilla was moved again to a different position. This time, Castro disclosed, it was upon Lotilla’s own request to PBBM to be given a “lighter assignment.” The Holy See is the central governing body of the Catholic Church operating within the Vatican City in Rome, Italy.

“Some guys have all the luck,” as the popular song of rocker Rod Stewart. As this song goes: “Some guys get all the pain, some guys do nothing but complain.”

The graceful exit of Lotilla is part ostensibly of a continuing reorganization process. As of this writing, Lotilla has yet to release a statement about his forthcoming new stint in the government, this time in a diplomatic post.

But for all intents and purposes, Lotilla was finally eased out of the Marcos Cabinet. Lotilla first joined the Marcos Cabinet as DOE Secretary in June, 2022 and subsequently confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Dec. 7, 2022.

Actually, Lotilla and Yulo-Loyzaga were among the casualties in that first Cabinet revamp. PBBM did the unprecedented reshuffling of his entire Cabinet team by requiring all of them to turn in their courtesy resignations. The Chief Executive announced the Cabinet revamp when he demanded an en masse courtesy resignations. It came in the aftermath of the results of the mid-term elections on May 12 last year. Only six out of the 12 Marcos-backed senatorial candidates under the administration’s Alyansa ng Bagong Pilipinas won the Senate race.

While he did not elaborate on what specifically triggered his Cabinet overhaul, PBBM merely stated: “The people have spoken, and they expect results – not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.” PBBM added: “It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations.”

A performance review supposedly was conducted for all Cabinet officials who submitted their courtesy resignations. The order for the mandatory submission of courtesy resignations obviously was meant to give the President elbow room to review each department’s performance. After all, the Chief Executive has the final say who will stay and who he will move out of his Cabinet.

That’s what we call as presidential prerogative.

In fairness, Lotilla has served in government for more than 20 years, including as undersecretary of the National Economic and Development Authority under three presidents. He first previously served as Energy Secretary from 2005 to 2007. PBBM named Lotilla’s deputy Sharon Garin as new DOE Secretary and him moved over to DENR.

In his second Marcos Cabinet assignment, Lotilla only served for nine months as DENR Secretary. He assumed and continued as DENR Secretary without being able to hurdle this time the confirmation gauntlet at the CA. In fact, he is just one of the Marcos Cabinet officials who have yet to get through and pass the CA grilling to date.

The 25-man CA is a bicameral congressional body chaired by the Senate president. Lotilla got by-passed by the CA when the 19th Congress adjourned without acting on his new nomination as DENR Secretary in the first Cabinet revamp.

PBBM re-issued Lotilla’s ad interim appointment to the CA of the present 20th Congress when it convened its first regular sessions July last year. But when both chambers went into two congressional recess one after the other, still the CA did not act on Lotilla and six other fellow Cabinet nominees.

A Cabinet official is given an “acting capacity” if he or she was appointed while Congress is in session and an “ad interim” status if it was done when Congress is in recess. He or she is allowed to continue to serve in “acting” capacity though while awaiting the final pass by the CA. But the Office of the President must issue ad interim appointments to enable Cabinet Secretary in “acting” capacity to continue with the discharge of his or her official functions as Department head.

But Marcos Cabinet nominees whose nominations have not gone out of the CA wringer remain as “acting” Secretaries. They are as follows: Executive Secretary Ralph Recto; Finance Secretary Frederick Go; Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida; Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Toledo; Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez; Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon; and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez.

But while nominated as ambassador to the Holy See, Lotilla will still need to go through another CA confirmation process. Aside from Cabinet-ranked officials, foreign service officers all the way to Ambassador-rank are subject to CA approval. If by-passed by the CA for the third time, a presidential nominee can no longer be reappointed.

And thus, the musical chairs routine in the Marcos Cabinet continue.