After stepping down as Executive Secretary

EXECUTIVE Secretary Victor Rodriguez on Saturday stepped down from his position as “primus inter pares” after he got the permission from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to do so.

“I have asked permission from the President to step down as executive secretary effective immediately. I thank the President for his continuing trust and his sincere understanding of my decision,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Rodriguez said the work of an executive secretary is “a 24/7 job with myriad topics expected to be attended to everyday that demands a sense of urgency which essentially requires almost all public servants’ time to ensure that services are met and delivered.”

“Equally valuable, however, is to witness firsthand your young family grow and evolve into how every parent would wish them to become and they most need me too,” he said.

With Rodriguez’s resignation as executive secretary, he was appointed by the President as Presidential chief of staff, a new position created by Administrative Order No. 1, which was signed this week by the chief executive.

The “Special Order” which added functions to what was already provided under A.O. No. 1 was disapproved by President Marcos based on the recommendation of his chief presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile.

The newly created Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff (OPCOS) will be under the direct supervision of the President.

“The OPCOS shall have the primary function of supervising and ensuring the efficient and responsive day-to-day operational support to the Presidency to enable the President to focus on strategic national concerns,” read the A.O. No. 1, which took effect immediately.

Signed this week by the President, the administrative order provides for the Presidential chief of staff (PCS) to have the rank and emoluments of a Cabinet secretary.

“The PCS will be assisted by a senior deputy chief of staff with the rank of secretary and two deputy chiefs of staff with rank of undersecretary, assistant secretaries and such number of directorial and other administrative staff as he deems necessary and upon the approval of the President,” read A.O. No. 1.

The immediate staff of the PCS will come from abolished agencies such as the Office of the Cabinet Secretary and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

Rodriguez will immediately assume his new position as PCS. This, in effect, will leave vacant the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES).

There are names now being considered for the position of executive secretary and these names are now under the process of vetting by the Office of the President.

As provided for in A.O. No. 1, the OES shall continue its supervision, control and oversight function over all the agencies and offices under and attached to the OP pursuant to Executive Order No. 1.

The A.O. provides for the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) and the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) to assist and support the PCS.

In a nutshell, the OPCOS will serve as the coordination mechanism of the Office of the President. It will be in-charge of the President’s security monitoring system, which shall be responsible for providing regular situation reports to the President on real-time basis.

The OPCOS will also supervise and coordinate closely with the PMS as the primary government agency directly responsible for providing substantive staff assistance in the Presidential exercise of overall management of the development process.

The Presidential chief of staff will also coordinate closely with Presidential advisers and assistants whose outputs shall be submitted to the President through the OPCOS copy furnished the Executive Secretary.