Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is slowly starting to fill up his Cabinet which is an ironic combination of old neoliberal has-beens, nostalgic cronies of his father, and new allies and cronies. He says they are competent, apolitical, and will continue to work for “unity.”
However, facts and previous controversies prove that Marcos’ cabinet consists of individuals criticized to be less than credible. Let us take a look at the present list of cabinet appointments to see if he has stayed true to his words.
Department of Education (DepED)
Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio, the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, is the mayor of Davao City (from 2010-2013, 2016-2022). She also served as a lawyer and a vice mayor (from 2007-2010). Apart from her political career, she is also a colonel in the Philippine Army’s reserve force.
One must also note that Duterte has also made headlines because of an incident about 11 years ago when she repeatedly punched Sheriff Abe Andres of the Davao Regional Trial 16 after finding out that the demolitions she had asked to be postponed had pushed through.
The Department of Education is the Philippine government’s executive department in charge of providing basic education access and fostering its quality for all Filipino students. The DepEd secretary secures the overall leadership and guidance through promulgating necessary measures and rules to implement the department’s objectives, initiatives, policies, and programs. It also has the largest budget in the annual general appropriations.
Accepting the appointment, Duterte asserted that the Philippines must produce skilled and patriotic learners and shared, “Our country needs a future generation of patriotic Filipinos that advocate peace and discipline in their respective communities.”
When speaking of said “love for country,” one of Sara’s key proposals was to implement mandatory military service for those 18 years old and above. This was lambasted by several youth groups, citing the culture of violence and impunity militaristic institutions enable, likened to the then-mandatory reserve officers’ training corps (ROTC) which has led to numerous reports of abuse, including that of Welson Chua from the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
With the current education system in dire crisis, the resounding campaigns for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education rings truer. What Sara has in store for the Education department is one devoid of critical thinking and academic freedom and inclined to the fascist brainwashing of the youth and historical distortion of their crimes and stories.
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ C. Remulla is the representative of Cavite’s 7th district and Senior Deputy Majority Leader since 2019, as well as from 2010 to 2013. As a member of the Remulla dynasty, he also served as the provincial governor of Cavite from 2016 to 2019 and the representative of the province’s 3rd district from 2004 to 2010. Remulla is one of ABS-CBN’s most outspoken critics and was one of the 70 congressmen who voted against the network’s franchise renewal.
The Secretary of Justice performs administrative adjudication over all disputes involving government agencies. Upon his appointment, Remulla said that he is already arranging a meeting with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to discuss the primary challenges and duties.
Once Remulla takes his seat as Justice secretary, among the cases left to him include the Tumandok massacre, Bloody Sunday killings in Southern Tagalog which resulted in the murder of 9 activists and the arrest of 6, and Sen. Leila de Lima’s case. Remulla will also be handling the Anti-Terror Council (ATC) which possesses the authority to designate individuals under the vague and dangerous definition of terrorism under the Anti-Terror Law.
Many human rights defenders, activists, and peasants have fallen prey to the draconian ATL, criminalizing their dissent and deeming them as “terrorists” despite no clear grounds for establishing them as such.
Last May 29, two farmers were the recent victims of the ATL. Percival Dellomas and Darmin Guelas from Samahan ng Magbubukid sa Sorsogon (SAMASOR) were illegally arrested on groundless claims of violation of the ATL, and murder.
READ: https://www.facebook.com/1655887737964162/posts/3311985909020995/?sfnsn=mo
Despite accepting the position as Justice secretary, Remulla is a known rabid red-tagger, following his pronouncements last March 5 when he blatantly red-tagged attendees of the Leni-Kiko rally in Cavite. He accused them of being paid and claimed some members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were there. He did not have evidence to back his claims.
Likewise, Remulla hampered the passage of the UP-DND Accord bill to the Senate after he filed a motion for reconsideration past its deadline. He asserted, “Yung UP-DND Accord na ‘yan, kalokahan yan!”
With several cases of human rights violations, activist detentions and killings, as well as ungrounded terrorist designations to be handled by the DOJ, Remulla is feared to weaponize the justice system against dissenters and critics, malign due process, and deprive justice from the victims of state-inflicted abuse and murder.
With a notorious red-tagger under another Marcos reign, there will be no justice.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Bienvenido ‘Benny’ Laguesma served as the Secretary of the DOLE from 1998 to 2001 under the Estrada administration. He is a life member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), where he worked as Director and Secretary of the Quezon City Chapter from 2005 to 2009, as well as the Philippine Bar Association and the Quezon City Trial Lawyers League, Inc.
As an incoming labor secretary, he will have to deal with two major labor issues, namely, eliminating labor contractualization, or ENDO, and addressing the poverty threshold by raising the minimum wage. Laguesma needs to address the growing poverty rate brought by the pandemic. In an interview with CNN Philippines, he reassured, “It’s important that we will help and support each other so that there will be an understanding between laborers, investors, and the government to come up with a win-win formula.” However, Laguesma also emphasized that employment contracting poses no harm despite the call of laborers to end contractualization and the rising unemployment rate. “Employment contracting, per se, is not bad… The law strictly provides that there should be legal and proper processes,” he said.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW)
Susan ‘Toots’ Ople was a former labor undersecretary and a vocal overseas Filipino worker (OFWs) advocate who was among the congressional resource persons who pushed for the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers.
She is also the daughter of the late foreign affairs secretary Blas Ople, who served as labor secretary during the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s administration and who was at the forefront of peddling the “Bagong Lipunan” propaganda of the Marcos regime.
As secretary of DMW, Ople would ensure the efficient and effective delivery of critical public services to Filipino migrant workers. For the next 6 months, Ople wishes to consult with the stakeholders. “I want to have a co-creation phase with our stakeholders. Second, I want to review the systems in place. Why is it difficult for good employers to get Filipinos in the same way that bad employers–sometimes they have an easier time to get workers,” she shared.“
Among Ople’s principal proposals as Migrant secretary entails the fast-tracking of OFW deployment. Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) administrator Bernard Olalia stated the current process for OFW deployment, emphasizing on health care workers and seafarers, is in good condition and is continuous.
With no national industries, the Philippines remain dependent on exports as its main source of income. One of which, as the most exploited, is the cheap labor sourced by “first world” countries. With the pretense of developing globally competitive individuals, it must be noted that the current colonial education system molds students into becoming docile workers and imbibes them with the idea that one’s ‘success’ lies in one’s ability to work abroad. This also peddles the unguided notion that such export of cheap labor upscales the country’s economy.
Under the Duterte regime, OFWs have been crying foul of the administration’s lack of regard for their rights, welfare, and non-response to cases of abuse. Additionally, OFWs are mandated to pay extra fees, including a compulsory PhilHealth payment and a mandatory contribution to SSS and Pag-Ibig which only increases their financial burdens while not being of any use to them while overseas.
While it holds true that the OFW’s remittances increase the nation’s income, such an idea has been consistently maligned and exploited by past administrations, especially Marcos I’s regime. Under his “Bagong Lipunan,” the Philippine economy was praised to have prospered; yet among what this false propaganda conceals is an inhumane system for overseas workers. Marcos Sr’s Labor Export Policy proves this true as it has incurred more damage, with a total brain and brawn drain, masked by the intent to allegedly alleviate the rise in unemployment rate and increase dollar reserves.
Now, with incoming Migrant Secretary Ople’s dream to accelerate OFW deployment, what this entails is the eerie and grim “Bagong Lipunan” her father had once propagated — a worsened export-oriented Philippine economy leeching off of overseas workers’ labor, while ensuring little to no support from the government.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
Erwin Tulfo is currently working as a news anchor with the government media People’s Television Network on their news program Ulat Bayan. He is also the brother of fellow broadcasters, Ben, Ramon, incoming senator Raffy and former tourism secretary Wanda Corazon Teo. He is also the fourth nominee of the ACT-CIS Partylist (Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support), who topped the party-list race for the second time. However, Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao referred to ACT-CIS as one of the questionable party-lists which has been flagged twice because of its association with the Tulfos.
To recall, Tulfo has also made headlines after calling DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista “buang” (crazy) after the latter allegedly refused to be interviewed on his radio program. In 2019, the city council of Dapitan in Zamboanga also declared Tulfo as “persona non grata”for mocking and insulting Dapitan and its people at a press conference in the said town.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Tulfo asked the public to give him 6 months to 1 year to provide immediate assistance to beneficiaries affected by disasters. “Pag hindi po ako naka-deliver, ako na mismo ang bababa sa pwesto and I will ask incoming President or President Bongbong Marcos na that time na, ‘Sir, palitan ninyo na ho ako dahil hindi ko ho nade-deliver ‘yung inatas ninyo sa akin na trabaho..,” he stated.
Filipinos are no stranger to government officials setting deadlines because the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte also set a three to six months deadline for eradicating drugs in the country. In April, however, Duterte admitted that he was “really wrong” in setting such a deadline.
Tulfo has reported to have been taking a 2-week “crash course” on public administration, alongside actor and convict Robin Padilla. Senator-elect and Marcos enabler Loren Legarda reportedly also offered to mentor both senator-elects with their lack of knowledge and experience in lawmaking.
He consequently boasts, however, of his experience in investigating irregularities involving government officials given his track record as radio broadcaster for two decades. But, when asked on how he can negotiate with Marcos II regarding press freedom, he regarded it as a shallow subject.
This is so despite the fact that numerous journalists have been at the receiving end of heightened state attacks, with alternative media outlets’ websites ordered as blocked by the National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
As DSWD Secretary, he would oversee the administration and implementation of social welfare programs that would help the living conditions of disadvantaged sectors in society. They are also in charge of providing help and assistance to people who are affected by natural calamities such as floods, and earthquakes.
In relation to social assistance, he says those on the “poverty line” must be prioritized over the middle class. He suggests that the middle class “can take care of themselves.” However, he is also hesitant on suspending excise tax on oil products, which has severely depleted the financial resources even of middle-income families, alongside the rapid oil price hikes, trickling down on basic goods and services.
Prior to Tulfo’s term, DSWD has been caught in numerous anomalies in relation to social aid as with the department’s deal with anomalous e-wallet firm Starpay to distribute P50 billion worth of ayuda to an estimate of 6.9 million beneficiaries in 2021. This was sought probe by lawmakers, following that the said firm was involved in several cash-flow problems and also plummeted to bankruptcy.
Now, with incoming DSWD secretary Tulfo’s term, his lack of experience and knowledge on the position he ran for is constantly questioned by critics, especially amid questionable stances on aid procurement and suspension of anti-people tax policies.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
Manuel ‘Manny’ Bonoan had already served as the Office-in-Charge of the DPWH under the Arroyo administration. He was also the undersecretary of the same department during the Estrada term, and assistant secretary under the Ramos administration.
Before becoming the president of San Miguel Corporation Tollways, he was also the president of Ramon Ang’s Skyway O&M Corporation, where he oversaw the tollways Skyway, NAIA Expressway, South Luzon Expressway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, and Southern Tagalog Arterial Road. In 2013, Bonoan was charged with graft concerning a P15 million flood control project in Manila.
SMC Tollways CEO Bonoan as DPWH secretary is criticized for bringing forth more anti-people and environmentally destructive infrastructure projects, favoring private corporations’ profit accumulation. Bonoan’s term would railroad long-contested projects such as the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) which has been studied by environmental groups to cause biodiversity loss in the Pasig river and a subsequent community displacement.
The New Manila International Airport (NMIA), under the care of SMC, has wreaked havoc on mangrove parks in Bulacan. Environmental advocates have pointed out further destruction the project may incur as it would merely dump land into the wetlands of fisherfolk community Brgy. Taliptip to serve as the airport’s foundation.
Projects such as those cited above would only multiply and worsen, as projected under Bonoan’s term. As such, Bonoan’s term can serve as the foundation for Marcos, Jr. to push through with another edition of Duterte’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) – one of which he vowed to continue as Duterte’s alleged “legacy.” This would inevitably result in destructive projects, corruption, and blind subservience to foreign firms’ interests.
Recycling Bonoan’s tactics as a CEO of a controversial private corporation and under a foreboding Marcos, Jr. regime is likewise a leeway to crony capitalism, a mechanism very much alive during Marcos, Sr.’s dictatorship when infrastructure projects were siphoned off public funds to the profit of private corporations. And, much like the Imeldific edifice complex, a Marcos administration with Bonoan as DPWH secretary will construct unnecessary projects from the ground up at the expense of the environment and the people.
Department of Tourism (DOT)
Maria Esperanza Christina Garcia Frasco is the mayor of Liloan City, Cebu. She is also a lawyer who previously worked at the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and Delos Angeles law firms, where she conducted international arbitration and commercial disputes. She completed her law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and taught at the University of San Carlos (USC).
The Department of Tourism (DOT) is the principal government department entrusted with encouraging, promoting, and developing tourism as a key socioeconomic activity that generates foreign currency and jobs, as well as extending tourism’s advantages to both the private and public sectors.
As the next secretary, Frasco will propagate the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) from 2022 to 2028. In her acceptance statement, she said that her priorities will be “to revitalize tourism so it may significantly propel the Philippines’ post-pandemic economic growth.”
Frasco emphasizes her proposal as Tourism secretary is to “capitalize not only on the beauty of our natural resources,” but also on food and clothing. She says this in line with the intention to invest in domestic tourism as well.
However, Frasco misses a crucial point: our natural resources have long been “capitalized,” exploited even, by foreign tourists, investors, corporations, and nations. The agriculture sector, for instance, has been oriented towards the production of export goods, such as corn, rice, and sugarcane. Hectares of land are maximized for monocropping purposes by multi-national and local corporations at the expense of the peasantry and the nation’s self-sufficiency.
Likewise, farmers have long been struggling for genuine agrarian reform, with 7 out 10 still landless. This is so despite alleged agrarian reform laws, such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of Cory Aquino’s administration, which deceived farmers into receiving stocks or bonds instead of being granted ownership to plowable portions of land.
Amid heightened investment in foreign tourism, non-locals have already been large beneficiaries of our own lands and resources, such as the US military troops’ permission to utilize lots of their own choice for the construction of the military bases.
Along with her concrete plans to uphold such a vision are tourism infrastructures, utilization of digitized strategies, and online platforms to boost the various destinations in the country, especially those that are underpromoted.
Frasco also proposes to “invest heavily in infrastructure” for easier access to tourist sites. However, in sync with incoming DPWH secretary Bonoan’s impending term, such infrastructure projects will inevitably serve as justification for anti-people and corrupt projects all for the benefit of private corporations and bureaucrat-capitalists.
What Frasco suggests may sound great on paper, especially with the promotion of our own products; however, this clearly disregards the long-standing crisis in the influx of imports and exports, yet the absence of self-sufficiency and national industries.
