MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. belied rumors that there would be a Cabinet reshuffle amid his plan to appoint candidates who lost in the 2025 elections to government posts.
Speaking to reporters in Kazan, Russia, Marcos said he wanted former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos to play a more active role in his administration, but this does not mean that someone will be removed from his Cabinet.
"Okay. I'll be very candid. I'll be very frank with you. Of course, I want Benhur to play a more active role in government. Of course, he has been there and he has been helping us in many ways, informally, privately," Marcos said.
"I wouldn't mind finding a way for him to help us in an official capacity. But just because we want him to join, to become, to play a more active part in government doesn't necessarily mean that somebody else has to be [removed]," he added.
Abalos resigned as secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in October 2024 to vie for a Senate seat under the Marcos administration’s coalition slate in the 2025 elections. He finished 16th among the senatorial candidates.
