When he called for members of his Cabinet on May 22 to each submit a courtesy resignation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said: “The people have spoken, and they expect results—not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.” 

“It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations,” the press release from the Presidential News Desk also quoted him as saying. 

Analysts were quick to point out that the President’s move is a reboot, a “bold reset,” an attempt to reverse the results of the midterm elections on May 12.

The midterm elections, literally held midway in the term of a president, are viewed as a referendum of the incumbent’s performance. Usually, whether in the Philippines, the United States, and other democracies, the candidates backed by the sitting administration emerge as the top winners.

In the May 2019 midterm elections, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), an alliance backed by then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte won 9 of the 12 Senate seats up for grabs. Her father, then President Rodrigo Duterte, initially said he would not endorse the HNP candidates but later endorsed the slate except for Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. 

Four HNP candidates got the highest votes: Cynthia Villar (No.1), Bong Go (No. 3), Pia Cayetano (No. 4) and Ronald dela Rosa (No. 5). Grace Poe, who ran as an independent, clinched the No. 2 slot. 

In the May 2013 midterm elections, nine candidates of Team Pinoy won as senators with four as the topnotchers: Poe (No. 1), Loren Legarda (No. 2), Alan Peter Cayetano (No. 3) and Francis Escudero (No. 4).  Nancy Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance was No. 5. 

But in the recent midterms, only six of the candidates in the Malacañang-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas won as senators: Erwin Tulfo (No. 4), Panfilo Lacson (No. 7), Tito Sotto (No. 8), Pia Cayetano (No. 9), Camille Villar (No. 10), and Lito Lapid (No. 11). Nearing the end of the campaign, Villar appeared to have switched to the Duterte camp. 

Only three of the senatorial candidates of “DuterTen,” the coalition formed to oppose the Marcos-backed Alyansa, made it. But they were among the top six:  Go (No.1), Dela Rosa (No. 3) and Rodante Marcoleta (No. 6).  

Opposition candidates Bam Aquino emerged No. 2 and Kiko Pangilinan No. 5. They were the candidates of KiBam, the umbrella organization composed of the party-list group Akbayan and the Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, a platform for young voters. 

Has the Marcos Cabinet performed poorly in the eyes of the Filipino people, specifically the voters?

The latest available surveys on public satisfaction with the Cabinet as a whole by the Social Weather Stations pegged the number of “satisfied” in December 2022 at 59% and in December 2023 at 58%—about the same given the margin of error at plus or minus 2.5%.

Looking back, just a little over a month before the May 2019 midterm elections, public satisfaction with the Cabinet was at 57%. Though lower than the December 2023 satisfaction rating at 58%, this may be about the same given the margin of error. 

But in 2019, nine Malacañang-backed candidates won as senators and got the top votes. In contrast, this month, a lesser number of Malacañang candidates for senator won, with only one (Tulfo) landing among the top five.

This indicates that while some figures may seem the same, there are other indicators to consider other than the public satisfaction rating of the Cabinet as a whole. The questions to ask: What were the specific and recent events that influenced performance perception, not just of the Cabinet but also of the Marcos administration? What are the key determinants to get the Filipinos’ votes?

A “careful” performance evaluation is supposed to follow the President’s call for courtesy resignations. The review is to “determine who will continue to serve in line with his administration’s “recalibrated priorities.”

In a press briefing at Malacañang on May 23, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced that 52 officials including himself had each tendered a courtesy resignation.

Bersamin announced the retention of five key members of the economic team: Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go. 

Bersamin himself will stay on as executive secretary.

The President accepted the courtesy resignations of Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, the Philippines’ permanent representative to the United Nations; Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga; and Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar. But Acuzar will still be part of the Cabinet as presidential adviser for Pasig River development, and will retain his rank as secretary.

The next announcements from the Palace should indicate if the “reset” instituted by the President is indeed a bold move designed to offset the results of the midterm elections.