Appointment based on 'trust': Palace

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has named retired Supreme Court chief justice Lucas Bersamin as his new executive secretary, replacing his long-time aide Vic Rodriguez, Malacañang announced Tuesday.

Bersamin has taken his oath before Marcos, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said.

"He began his duties immediately by attending the 9th cabinet meeting right after swearing in," she added.

Rodriguez resigned from the "little president" post earlier this month, just weeks after being linked to the sugar importation mess. He will continue serving in the government as the Presidential Chief of Staff.

When asked about the main difference between Rodriguez and Beramin's posts, Angeles said the public would have to wait for the "distinction" based on the Administrative Order No. 1.

"Ang current status is he (Rodriguez) entered into his duties as chief of staff, so that is how things stand right now."

Prior to his new post, Bersamin was the chairman of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) after being designated by Marcos' predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in 2020.

• Lucas Bersamin is new Chief Justice
• Ex-chief justice Bersamin is new GSIS chair

'BASED ON TRUST'

Marcos' primary consideration in choosing Bersamin as his new executive secretary was trust, Cruz-Angeles said.

"He is well-qualified to be the executive secretary having put in so many years in the judiciary, he has the necessary legal background and the ability to deal with paperwork," the Press Secretary said during a Palace briefing.

"He is trusted and well-qualified for this."

Bersamin obtained his law degree from the University of the East in 1973, a government website showed. During the same year, he placed 9th in the Bar examinations.

He served as presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 96 beginning November 1986, and was a Court of Appeals associate justice prior to being appointed to the high court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

• PROFILE: Lucas Bersamin

As associate justice, Bersamin voted in favor of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's ouster, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s burial at the Heroes' Cemetery, and the Mindanao martial law declaration and extension, among others.

Bersamin served as the country's top magistrate from November 2018 until his retirement in October 2019.

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