Potential Cabinet members under final evaluation

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles. (Screengrab from a video posted on Facebook by Vic Rodriguez)

MANILA, Philippines — Candidates for secretaries of health, energy, and other departments are still undergoing “final evaluation” and those to be appointed will be named soon, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles said on Monday.

At a press briefing in Malacañang, Angeles said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had no specific deadline on the appointments.

“There is a stringent evaluation of the candidates for the positions. I understand that this is now going through the final evaluation stage. So I don’t think it will take too long,” she said.

Marcos has declared all positions held by presidential appointees vacant and designated the next highest career official to take over in an acting capacity.

Angeles also denied speculations that Marcos was having a hard time making his selection or that there was political pressure or parties involved.

“We’re not saying there are difficulties or anything like that, these are very important positions, [the appointees] have to pass through the needle’s eye,” she added.

‘Priorities’

“We will rely on the president’s wisdom to choose the best people for the job,” she added.

On the appeals to appoint a health secretary soon as the country recovers from the pandemic, Angeles said Marcos was aware of such concerns.

“The president is quite aware and, in fact, one of the priorities is managing the effects of this pandemic. So you must also understand that this is so important, they must look very closely and carefully at the candidates,” she said.

Angeles said that, in the meantime, the “current operation setup” of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which the health secretary chairs, will remain in force.

RELATED STORY

Palace: No announcement yet on first Cabinet meeting of Marcos admin