2 Palace officials deny 'looming' Cabinet revamp

Two Malacanang officials on Friday said there is no indication that President Benigno Aquino III will reshuffle his Cabinet members amid reports of a looming revamp. "I don’t see that happening," Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said during an interview on GMA News TV's "News To Go" Friday morning. Rumors of an impending reshuffle came after the President publicly expressed his frustration over some officials who were unable to find immediate solutions to problems confronting their agencies. But Ochoa said Aquino might be referring to the problems that were brought to his attention by some Cabinet officials and there was nothing personal about his pronouncements. "So as far as I am concerned, there’s nothing personal there on the part of the President. It’s all about work and there was no malice intended," Ochoa said. "Departments are confronted with problems and some of these problems are serious that sometimes immediate solutions are not readily available," he added.

At a press briefing in Malacanang meanwhile, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President did not mention, either in expressed terms or indirectly, any Cabinet revamp. "Wala naman po kasing nasasabi sa amin ang Pangulo kung meron pong Cabinet revamp, wala naman po siyang nabanggit," she said. Asked on the evaluation Aquino is conducting on the performance of his Cabinet, Valte said it is ongoing. "Pagdating po doon sa performance ng Cabinet secretaries, ongoing po talaga ‘yan. We can’t even say that it is periodic. Sa lahat po ng ginagawa nila nakikita naman po ng Pangulo ‘yon and because of that he sees, naa-assess po n’ya ‘yung nagiging performance ng kanyang Gabinete," she said. She also believed that the Cabinet members were not affected with the rumored revamp. "Okay naman po sila. Nagka-economic managers’ meeting po ‘nung Wednesday and I did not notice any change in their moods naman po or wala naman…if you’re looking for the signs na depressed, wala naman po akong napansin," she said. — RSJ, GMA News