As the Little President, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea must “crack the whip “ and “bang heads” of Cabinet members, who have been bickering in public, Senate Minority Franklin Drilon said on Wednesday.
Drilon said the Executive Secretary should take a “more active hand” in resolving the infighting in President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet.
“Hindi po maganda ito. It’s not a good projection. My suggestion is that the Executive Secretary should crack the whip in behalf of the President and bang heads,” the senator said during the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Malate, Manila.
Drilon also served as Executive Secretary during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino.
“The Executive Secretary should take leadership. He’s the ‘Little President.’ he’s the only Filipino, who can sign for and in behalf of the President, by authority of the President. So he must exercise his powers for the good of the administration…” the senator said.
Senator Franklin Drilon (left) is urging Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea (right) to rein in Cabinet secretaries who bicker in public. INQUIRER FILES
Instead of fighting in public, Drilon said Cabinet members should settle their differences in internal meetings.
The senator made the call after recent reports of infightings between Medialdea himself and Environment Gina Lopez and the reported alleged power struggle between Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. and Special Assistant to the President Bong Go.
He also cited the case of former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno and three undersecretaries in the Department of Agriculture. CBB