MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has asked all cabinet secretaries to submit their resignations, a move his office described on Thursday as a “bold reset“ that will enable him to overhaul his government to better meet public expectations.
The sweeping directive comes just over a week after a disappointing midterm election for the administration, widely seen as a referendum on Marcos' leadership.
“This is not about personalities — it’s about performance, alignment, and urgency,“ Marcos said in a statement issued by the Presidential Communications Office.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“Those who have delivered and continue to deliver will be recognised. But we cannot afford to be complacent. The time for comfort zones is over.”
Marcos failed to secure a sweep of Senate seats for his allies, signalling a divided legislative landscape heading into the second half of his single six-year term.
Candidates aligned with his estranged vice president, Sara Duterte, outperformed expectations in what many viewed as a proxy battle between the two camps.
“This is not business as usual,“ Marcos said.
“The people have spoken, and they expect results — not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act,“ he said.
Marcos has faced a steep decline in public support, according to a March survey by Pulse Asia, with only 25% of Filipinos approving of his performance, down from 42% previously.
In stark contrast, Duterte enjoyed a significantly higher approval rating of 59%.
Sentiment towards the government has soured due in part to a perceived failure to control inflation, a top concern of Filipino households, even though it has been back within the central bank's 2% to 4% target range since August.
