There is no ill feeling between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his ‘resigned’ Cabinet members, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, following their exit as their names were dragged into the growing corruption scandal.
In a press briefing on Monday, Marcos said he had already talked to them ‘and we decided to keep it between ourselves.’
‘There’s no bad blood, there’s no acrimonious feeling. That’s fine,’ the President added.
Bersamin earlier disputed Malacañang’s statement that he resigned out of a sense of propriety, saying he was asked to step down from his post.
On November 17, Palace press officer Claire Castro announced that Bersamin and Pangandaman voluntarily resigned ‘out of delicadeza,’ after their names were dragged into the ongoing corruption investigation involving public works projects.
That same day, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto was appointed as Bersamin’s replacement as executive secretary, while Budget Undersecretary Rolando Toledo was named as officer-in-charge of the Department of Budget and Management.
Secretary Frederick Go, the special assistant to the President for investment and economic affairs, filled Recto’s vacated post in the Department of Finance.