Alejandro Tengco, the politically-appointed chairman and chief executive of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the nation’s casino regulator-cum-operator, said in a Thursday statement that he and the agency’s entire board had tendered their resignations “last week”, though on a “courtesy” basis.
A separate statement indicated all government officials asked to make such a move will continue to do their work until further notice.
The Thursday update from Pagcor cited Mr Tengco saying: “We serve at the pleasure of the [country’s] President. And we will accept whatever the Chief Executive’s decision will be.”
Alongside Mr Tengco, those that also “voluntarily stepped down” were Pagcor’s president and chief operating officer, Wilma Eisma; and directors Jose Maria Ortega, Francis Democrito Concordia and Gilbert Cesar Remulla.
A Monday statement by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) – Pagcor being one of them – mentioned that all “non ex-officio chairpersons, chief executives and all appointive directors/trustees/members of the GOCC governing boards” should take the “courtesy resignation” step.
The notice added: “The affected officers are reminded that until any action is taken by the Office of the President on such courtesy resignation, they shall continue to report for work and perform their usual duties and functions subject to any further directives that the Office of the President may deem proper.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been reshaping his government after a disappointing showing for his allies in mid-term elections on May 12.
On May 22 Mr Marcos had already called for the courtesy resignations of all cabinet secretaries, saying he wanted a “bold reset” of his administration, better to meet the public’s needs, according to local media outlets, citing his remarks.
Fewer than half of the President’s preferred senatorial candidates won seats in the mid-terms. Five of the 12 Senate race winners were endorsed by Sara Duterte, Mr Marcos’s vice president, with whom he is in dispute. Five were aligned with Mr Marcos, while two candidates described by the Associated Press as “surprise winners”, were from the opposition.
Mr Marcos’ allies retained their majority in the lower chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives.
