No Cabinet revamp yet, senator claims

If Senator Sergio Osmeña III is to be believed, there is no forthcoming revamp in President Benigno Aquino III's Cabinet yet. At the weekly forum at the Senate on Thursday, Osmeña, an administration ally, said he has yet to receive information of any possible revamp in President Aquino's Cabinet even as the one-year ban on appointing defeated candidates ends in May. "No, I don't (have news of any revamp)," Osmeña told reporters. But he said that there are two names which come to mind when he is asked about possible candidates for the Cabinet: defeated Liberal Party senatorial bet and former Bukidnon congressman Neric Acosta and former senator and defeated LP vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas II. Acosta had earlier been rumored to replace Ramon Paje as head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). "Neric (Acosta) already has a lock [on the] DENR [post]. As a matter of fact, Sec. Paje's nomination has never been submiited for confirmation…it’s a signal that he is temporary," said Osmeña. Acosta authored many environmental laws during his stint in the House of Representatives, including the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. On the other hand, Osmeña said Roxas has already been basically appointed as the President's "troubleshooter." "He did a good job in Taiwan, and I think that essentially (he will be) assigned to do a lot of things. It could be good…he (Aquino) needs somebody like that," he said. Osmeña, however, dismissed speculations that Roxas is being groomed to replace Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., whose nomination has already been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA). "That’s pure speculation, I don’t think that’s going to happen," he said. He likewise said that Aquino will probably retain Interior Sec. Jesse Robredo. "He’s been doing a good job so I'm fairly sure President PNoy will retain him and probably submit his name for confirmation," he said. Aside from Ochoa, the CA has confirmed the appointments of 13 Cabinet officials, namely: