Does He Deserve it or Not? A Look Into the Executive Secretary Post

The Executive Secretary vs. The Cabinet Secretary

When one hears the word “secretary”, what comes to mind is just someone who takes notes and plans the employer’s, usually a person who is holding a top position at the company, schedule.

However, when it comes to being the executive secretary of someone running the country, especially when you are given so much power like having a say in the cabinet appointees, then you can’t just be anyone.

News just came out that the Palace denied the resignation of Atty. Vic Rodriguez, who served as a barangay captain for a decade, before becoming former Mayor Sonny Belmonte’s staff and eventually helping out the Marcoses.

Malou Tiquia, who worked as a political strategist for more than a decade, flat out opposed the Executive Order No. 1 of the Office of the current president, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. aka Bongbong Marcos.

She said that it gives too much power to the executive secretary, and that someone in that position should have a vast experience.

She points out that abolishing the Office of the Cabinet Secretary in favor of this position would disrupt the Cabinet Cluster System, which ensures that everyone is aligned towards a single goal.

Right now, the “Executive Secretary” can be called “The Little President” because the said position represents a tremendous force in the country.

The Executive Secretary is in charge of the following: Appointing officials who do not require the president’s consent; applying presidential directives, orders, and decisions, and overseeing multiple agencies under the Office of the President.

The Past Executive Secretaries of the Philippines

The post of Executive Secretary has been held by recognized men since it was made in 1936. Attorney Jorge Vargas, the principal Executive Secretary, was designated by President Manuel Quezon in the wake of filling in as boss representative of the Department of Interior and authoritative secretary to then-Speaker Sergio Osmeña.

Manuel Roxas, the fifth President of the Philippines, likewise filled in as Quezon’s Executive Secretary from December 1941 until March 1942, simply a month prior to he was caught by Japanese powers.

Experience is a significant thought in naming the “Little President.” The Executive Secretary needs to raise a ruckus around town running, with scarcely any chance to figure out how to explore the complex labyrinth of the organization. Inferable from the requests of the gig, past Presidents picked Executive Secretaries who had demonstrated their courage through the posts they’ve held throughout the long term.

Ernesto Maceda, a cum laude graduate of the Ateneo Law School, filled in as councilor of Manila — and was named Outstanding Councilor — prior to turning into the most youthful Cabinet individual from then-President E. Marcos as Secretary of Community Development at 29 years of age. He filled in as Marcos’ Executive Secretary in a simultaneous limit as Chairman of the Commission on Reorganization from July 1969 to February 1970.

Joker Arroyo held the record as the basic freedoms legal advisor who took care of the most number of cases somewhere in the range of 1972 and 1986 preceding turning out to be then-President Corazon Aquino’s most memorable Executive Secretary in 1986. Franklin Drilon filled in as Labor Secretary for quite a long time and Justice Secretary for one year before his arrangement as Aquino’s Executive Secretary in 1991.

Teofisto Guingona, who proceeded to become Vice President under the Arroyo organization, filled in as representative for a very long time before his arrangement as Executive Secretary. He likewise led the Commission on Audit from 1986 to 1987. Ronaldo Zamora worked under the Marcos and Aquino organizations preceding becoming President Joseph Estrada’s most memorable Executive Secretary from 1998 to 2000.

The longest serving Executive Secretaries were delegated in the beyond three organizations: Eduardo Ermita, Paquito Ochoa and Salvador Medialdea held the post for a considerable length of time under Presidents Gloria Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte, separately. Both Ochoa and Medialdea were legal counselors while Ermita was a three-term senator from Batangas who likewise took care of the public protection portfolio under Arroyo.

Atty. Vic Rodriguez as Executive Secretary

Contrasted with his a large number of his ancestors, Vic Rodriguez’s resume misss the mark. He was barangay commander of Sacred Heart in Quezon City for quite a long time prior to becoming unique collaborator to the head of the Business Permits and Licensing Office in 2002 under then-Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. He later turned into the official accountable for the city’s Community Relations Office.

Rodriguez’s profile rose when he became representative and head of staff of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the approach the 2022 decisions. He was named Executive Secretary soon after Marcos won as President.

The organization’s new botches have shown Rodriguez’s awkwardness for the gig. The arrangement of Archipelago Philippines Ferries-FastCat proprietor Christopher Pastrana as Philippine Ports Authority General Manager has been met with analysis attributable to saw irreconcilable situation and his organization’s alleged P132-million obligation to the Department of Transportation.

Up to this point, Pastrana’s arrangement stays in an in-between state. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista has rather assigned a long-serving ports director to turn into PPA’s official in-control GM until additional notification.

Previous Energy head Raphael Lotilla’s arrangement likewise hit an obstacle as Malacañang seemed to have been neglectful in verifying his certifications. Republic Act 7638 or the Department of Energy Act of 1992 disallowed the arrangement of an Energy Secretary who used to be an official of a privately owned business participated in the energy business in the span of a long time from his renunciation or retirement.

Lotilla, nonetheless, was a free overseer of Aboitiz Power Corp., and the oil and gas investigation firm ACE Enexor. The Department of Justice later insisted his designation as “legitimate and legal,” yet not after the Palace’s head-scratching explanation that Lotilla’s arrangement was a “selection” for the time being.

Rodriguez’s hand was likewise found in Marcos’ rejection of the bill making the Bulacan Airport City ecozone, which frustrated administrators and financial backers. He asserted there were “deserts” that ought to be cured by passing an altogether new regulation.

Philippine Star reporter Jarius Bondoc said there’s nobody however Rodriguez to fault for the organization’s new disasters. “From mumbles in Malacañang, Rodriguez made them come. Probably he re-unified to his office works previously spread to different units. That made him strong, whenever over-burden,” Bondoc said.

Rodriguez has evidently volunteered to vet contender for great many official representatives. No big surprise the declaration of arrangements is moving at an agonizingly slow clip, with various key opportunities still unfilled.

For all his discussion about being near Marcos, one would think Rodriguez maintains that just the organization should succeed. Be that as it may, he appears to be set on cutting his chief down, each off-base choice in turn.