Marcos: No truth to rumors Remulla will be replaced as DILG chief

TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has finally put an end to speculations about Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s fate at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), saying there is no truth in circulating rumors about the latter’s replacement.

Marcos made the clarification at an interview with Philippine media here on Friday, as he concluded his four-day state visit.

READ: DILG chief Remulla still enjoys Marcos’ trust – Palace

“I don’t know why that rumor went around. I think somebody wants his job. That’s why they’re spreading claims that he will be removed, probably hoping they’ll be appointed instead. But we have no such plans,” he said.

“The only latest change in the Cabinet was in Dole [Department of Labor and Employment]. Because Secretary Benny has asked to take a step back. He has some issues that he has to deal with. And so, we have appointed a new Cabinet secretary for Dole, who is former Senator Francis Tolentino,” Marcos further said, referring to former Dole chief Bienvenido Laguesma.

Remulla initially announced that former lawmaker Zaldy Co, a central figure in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, may be back in Manila from the Czech Republic in three weeks’ time after he was held in custody in Prague. 

He later took his statement back and apologized for the faulty projection.

Criticism against Remulla intensified following the Senate shooting incident on May 13. Moreover, Remulla drew flak after police officers apprehended individuals for not wearing a shirt under his department’s “Safer Cities” initiative. /das