Philippines' Marcos keeps economic team, replaces foreign minister in cabinet revamp
MANILA, May 23 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will retain his trade, finance, budget and economic planning ministers but will replace the foreign minister in an overhaul of his cabinet, his executive secretary said on Friday.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced the changes after Marcos had asked all his cabinet secretaries to resign following the government's disappointing performance in midterm elections last week.
"The president decided to retain these five members of the economic team so that there will be no more problems of perception about where the country is going," Bersamin told a briefing.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo will be replaced by his undersecretary, Theresa Lazaro, who will take the helm from July 31. Manalo was named as the country's permanent representative to the United Nations.
The environment secretary will be replaced by the energy secretary, Bersamin said, adding the performance review was ongoing and decisions would be announced as they are made.
"More action will be coming," he said.
The cabinet shake-up is widely seen as Marcos' attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term after a bruising midterm election and in the wake of falling approval ratings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Six-year-old girl among 16 arrested by Myanmar junta for top general's assassination
A six-year-old girl and a teenage boy were among 16 people arrested and labelled as "terrorists" in connection to the high-profile assassination of a retired military officer and diplomat, a military-run newspaper reported. Cho Tun Aung, 68, a retired Brigadier General who served as an ambassador to Cambodia, was shot dead on 22 May in the commercial capital of Yangon while out on a walk with his grandchild. An urban guerrilla group, Golden Valley Warriors, claimed responsibility for the attack. It was one of the most high-profile attacks in a string of targeted killings that have seen more than five retired military officers, including majors and generals, assassinated since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup and overthrew the elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. "A total of 16 offenders – 13 males and three females – were arrested," the junta-controlled news outlet Global New Light of Myanmar reported. Those arrested included one of the alleged assassins, four suspected lookouts, two doctors who provided treatment to a person injured during the assassination, and several associates and family members, it said. A picture of those arrested released by the newspaper showed the mugshot of the six-year-old girl and a teenage boy. It said they were the members of the Godel Valley Warriors group. The group at that time said they killed the retired general because of his continued support for military operations, including attacks on civilians. The junta claimed that the group is run by the National Unity Government, a shadow government which was formed after the coup by the members of the ousted Suu Kyi administration. The report said the NUG paid 200,000 Myanmar Kyat ($95.52) for a killing. However, NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt denied the allegations. "It is not true that we are paying people to kill other people," he said. Myanmar remains embroiled in a civil war since the 2021 coup and the military, which has directly or indirectly ruled Myanmar most of the time since independence, has launched a crackdown on protesters as well as resistance militia groups. Pro-democracy fighters allied with ethnic minority groups seeking greater autonomy have launched a fight with the junta and analysts believe they control a much greater share of territory. Since the coup, Myanmar's junta has arrested over 29,000 people, including more than 6,000 women and 600 children, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an activist group. Myanmar's junta has said it does not target civilians and its operations are in response to attacks by "terrorists" for maintaining peace and stability in the country.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Border tensions: What's behind the row between Thailand and Cambodia?
BANGKOK, June 6 (Reuters) - Tension has been rising between Thailand and Cambodia following the killing of a Cambodian soldier in May during a brief exchange of gunfire at a disputed border area between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817 km (508 miles) land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony. That map, which Thailand later contested, was based on an agreement that the border would be demarcated along the natural watershed line between the two countries. In 2000, the two countries agreed to establish a Joint Border Commission to peacefully address overlapping claims, but little progress has been made towards settling disputes. Claims over ownership of historical sites have raised nationalist tension between the two countries, notably in 2003 when rioters torched the Thai embassy and Thai businesses in Phnom Penh over an alleged remark by a Thai celebrity questioning jurisdiction over Cambodia's World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple. An 11th century Hindu temple called Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, has been at the heart of the dispute for decades, with both Bangkok and Phnom Penh claiming historical ownership. The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but Thailand has continued to lay claim to the surrounding land. Tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list the Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site, leading to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Two years later, Cambodia sought interpretation of the 1962 verdict and the ICJ again ruled in its favour, saying the land around the temple was also part of Cambodia and ordering Thai troops to withdraw. Despite the historic rivalry, the current governments of Thailand and Cambodia enjoy warm ties, partly due to the close relationship between their influential former leaders, Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen, whose daughter and son respectively are now the respective prime ministers in their countries. Thaksin and Hun Sen also remain active in politics. But nationalist sentiment has risen in Thailand after conservatives last year questioned the government's plan to negotiate with Cambodia to jointly explore energy resources in undemarcated maritime areas, warning such a move could risk Thailand losing the island of Koh Kood in the Gulf of Thailand. Tensions also rose in February when a group of Cambodians escorted by troops sang their national anthem at another ancient Hindu temple that both countries claim, Ta Moan Thom, before being stopped by Thai soldiers. The issue is a problem for Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose government is facing multiple challenges on the domestic front, including a stuttering economy facing steep U.S. tariffs. Thailand's military, however, has ramped up the rhetoric with statements that have contrasted with the government's conciliatory tone, expressing readiness for a "high-level operation" if sovereignty comes under threat. Paetongtarn later echoed the military's position but said a peaceful resolution of the disputes was Thailand's priority. The mixed messaging underlines the troubled history between the billionaire Shinawatra family and the royalist military, which toppled its governments in 2006 and 2014. After the May 28 clash, both countries quickly promised to ease tension, prevent more conflict and seek dialogue via their joint border commission at a meeting planned for June 14. The neighbours have issued diplomatically worded statements committing to peace while vowing to protect sovereignty, but their militaries have been mobilising near the border, raising concerns about another flare-up. Cambodia, meanwhile, said existing mechanisms were not working and it planned to refer disputes in four border areas to the ICJ to settle "unresolved and sensitive" issues that it said could escalate tensions. Thailand has not recognised the ICJ's rulings on the row and wants to settle it bilaterally.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Six-year-old girl among Myanmar group arrested for killing retired general
June 6 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has arrested a six-year-old child as part of a group it labelled "terrorists" for the daytime killing of a retired military officer and diplomat last month, a junta-run newspaper reported on Friday. Cho Htun Aung, 68, a retired brigadier general who also served as an ambassador, was shot dead in Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon on May 22, in one of the highest profile assassinations in a country in the throes of a widening civil war. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, overthrowing an elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering widespread protests. The junta's violent crackdown on dissent sparked an unprecedented nationwide uprising. A collection of established ethnic armies and new armed groups have wrested away swathes of territory from the well-armed military, and guerrilla-style fighting has erupted even in urban areas like Yangon. "A total of 16 offenders - 13 males and three females - were arrested," the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. In an accompanying graphic, the newspaper carried the image of the six-year-old child, identified as the daughter of the alleged assassin. Her face was blurred in an online version of the newspaper seen by Reuters, but visible in other social media posts made by junta authorities. A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment. Golden Valley Warriors, an anti-junta insurgent group, said they killed the retired general because of his continued support for military operations, including attacks on civilians, according to a May 22 statement. The junta claims the group is backed by the National Unity Government - a shadow government comprising of remnants of Suu Kyu's ousted administration that is battling the military - and paid an assassin some 200,000 Myanmar Kyat ($95.52) for a killing, the state newspaper reported. NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt denied the shadow government had made any such payments. "It is not true that we are paying people to kill other people," he told Reuters. Since the coup, Myanmar's junta has arrested over 29,000 people, including more than 6,000 women and 600 children, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an activist group. Fatalities among civilians and pro-democracy activists verified by AAPP during this period amount to more than 6,700, including 1,646 women and 825 children. Myanmar's junta has said it does not target civilians and its operations are in response to attacks by "terrorists" for maintaining peace and stability in the country. ($1 = 2,093.7000 kyat)
