00:00A presidential appointee serves at the pleasure of his boss.
00:04Hence, any day at work could well be his or her last.
00:07The Point Palace press officer and PCO under Secretary Claire Castro
00:11drove home in today's palace presser,
00:13citing Bersamin's abrupt departure or dismissal from the office
00:16was purely the president's call.
00:19I have more on this report gleaned by our Kenneth Paciente.
00:25Malacanang insisted that the removal of former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin
00:29from the cabinet is clearly the prerogative of President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr.
00:34This was Malacanang's response following Bersamin's statement
00:37in which he denied that he resigned on his own accord.
00:40As he himself stated in his interview,
00:43he submitted himself to the president's discretion and prerogative
00:47as part of the ongoing reorganization.
00:50The palace announcement was issued in line with this understanding
00:54and with due regard for stability and continuity in governance.
01:00The palace also expressed respect for what the former official felt.
01:04However, Castro emphasized that the announcement regarding Bersamin's departure
01:07came directly from the palace.
01:09This Monday, Castro announced that Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amena Parandaman
01:23had tendered their resignations due to delicadesa
01:26after their offices were allegedly linked to a budget insertion
01:29related to anomalies and flood control projects.
01:33Their removals were reportedly aimed to pave the way
01:35for the unhindered progress of the investigation.
01:38In the face of cabinet rumblings, Malacanang said,
01:41there is no internal investigation underway
01:43and not everyone is being investigated.
01:46Castro explained,
01:47this could merely be part of the president's performance audit.
01:50Castro added,
01:51this does not mean the resigned officials
01:53are safe from investigation into corruption.
01:55The palace also responded to alleged trends
02:07of unceremonious removals of high-ranking officials
02:09in the administration.
02:10This is Sharm Zespina from the National TV Network
02:27for a new and better Philippines.
