Alan on ‘Cabinet post’ for Bongbong: Mere speculation, but…

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DAVAO CITY— Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday dismissed as mere speculation reports that Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will be given a Cabinet post in the Duterte administration a year from now.

Cayetano, Duterte’s defeated running mate, said talking about possible appointments of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte next year was “not relevant,” as a lot of things can still happen before the one-year ban on appointments of defeated candidates expires.

“I haven’t heard that there was a formal offer. It was all speculation… Iba-iba nababasa ko eh. But as I said, prerogative ng pangulo na mag-appoint ng kahit sinong gusto niya as long as qualified. Napakalayo pa ng one year from now, as the President always says, ‘as of now, as of now,'” Cayetano told the media in a chance interview at Abreeza mall here.

“Any talk of a year from now ay napakalayo pa so let’s just take it at face value, kung may mga bumibisita, may nagpaparamdam. May mga real na posibleng offers, pero actually a year away from now is so long,” he added.

The son and namesake of the late dictator said a possibility of working with the incoming administration was one of the things he and Duterte discussed during a four-hour meeting at a restobar here on Friday. But Marcos said the details have yet to be ironed out.

Asked if he thinks Marcos deserves to be one of Duterte’s “best and brightest” Cabinet members, Cayetano said it does not matter what he thinks, adding that it is the President-elect’s prerogative to appoint anyone he deems qualified.

“It doesn’t matter what I think. You know what I think. It’s what he thinks. Tingin niyo ba kakalabanin ko siya kung tingin kong best and the brightest. Natural naman ‘yun, di ba? Pero hindi ako ‘yung appointing power eh. I will like some of his appointments, I may not like some of them,” he said.

“It’s all speculation kung may ma-a-appoint ngayon…One year away, napakalayo pa. Not really relevant. I mean kung bumisita sa kanya ang mga senador na natapos ngayon, pwedeng mag-speculate kung magkaka-Cabinet post sila o hindi, we’ll never know. Even VP-elect Leni (Robredo) sabi niya as of now wala at hindi niya balak. One year from now, you don’t know kung bibigyan niya o hindi. Ako sinabi niya I’m free to choose. But one year from now, he may or may not want me. But why don’t we focus kung ano ang makakatulong sa tao,” Cayetano added.

Instead of talking about the looming Cabinet appointments a year from now, the senator said it would be better to discuss what needs to be done within the next few months to achieve the change that the incoming administration has promised.

“So let’s just focus on June 30, sa pagtake-over niya, within six months mararamdaman niyo na safe kayo sa kalye, safe kayo sa bahay,” Cayetano said