Cabinet revamp a chance to shift gears, Aquino told

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III should use the much-anticipated Cabinet revamp as an opportunity to shift gears in his administration’s priorities.

This was the advice of House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II amid reports that the President would appoint to the Cabinet this week his defeated running mate, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, and other losing candidates in last year’s elections.

Losing candidates are banned from taking any government post within a year after the elections, which last year were held on May 11.

Gonzales said Mr. Aquino should “redirect his priorities” in keeping with the shifting concerns of the public as seen from the latest public surveys.

He said the President’s trust ratings have softened partly because of the disconnect in his advocacy and the pressing needs of the public.

While the Aquino administration is focusing on going after allegedly corrupt officials of the previous Arroyo administration, the public has to grapple with the harsh impact of the rising prices of oil and basic commodities, said Gonzales.

According to Gonzales, the President should make changes in the Cabinet that would directly address the issues “closest to the heart” of the public, such as rising prices, livelihood programs, health problems and education.

Mr. Aquino has already announced that he would appoint Roxas as his chief of staff. The other losing candidates expected to be named to Cabinet posts are former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta (reportedly to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources) and former Akbayan party-list representative Rissa Hontiveros-Baraquel (to the National Anti-Poverty Commission).

Some sectors have also urged the President to consider a person’s qualification and integrity rather than party affiliation in choosing his Cabinet officials.

In an open letter, Fr. Venancio Balansag of the Bishop’s House in Malaybalay, Bukidnon and Felix Vergara, Jr. of Maramag, Bukidnon, members of the Bukidnon Crusade Against Crime and Corruption, urged the President to think twice before appointing a losing candidate like Acosta “who has been indicted and is now facing several cases for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act before the 4th Division of the Sandiganbayan.”