Reportedly Resigned E.S. Lucas Bersamin Contradicts Announcement of Malacañang
Lucas Bersamin contradicted the announcement of the Palace that he allegedly resigned from being the executive secretary.
While he refused to return to the Philippines and face the massive accusations of corruption hurled against him, former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co released a series of videos on social media wherein he made his claims. He dragged President Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the issue.
According to Zaldy Co, Pres. Bongbong Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez allegedly masterminded the P100 billion budget insertion in the 2025 national fund. He also claimed that he allegedly contacted several Cabinet members to confirmed the supposed order from Marcos Jr.
Zaldy Co claimed that he allegedly reached out to then-Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and then-Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. Following the allegations of Co, Pangandaman and Bersamin reportedly resigned from their positions according to the Palace.
Finance Sec. Ralph Recto was reportedly appointed to be the next Executive Secretary. Recto, a former senator, claimed during a Senate budget plenary deliberations that he is set to take his oath as the new E.S. of Pres. Bongbong Marcos today.
However, based on a report on ABS-CBN News, former Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin claimed that he allegedly did not resign from his position. His claim goes contradictory with the announcement of the Palace that he allegedly resigned from the position ‘out of delicadeza’.
According to Bersamin, earlier last November 17, he was told by someone through a phone call that he needs leave from being the executive secretary. He claimed that the said call was allegedly not from Malacañang and he informed Marcos Jr. about it. Based on the report, on the same day, the Palace allegedly announced his resignation without him submitting any resignation letter then.
“I did not resign. Earlier in the day last November 17, someone called to tell I had to go as the ES. The call was not from Malacañang. I informed the President by text that I had no problem exiting. About 2 p.m., the PCO reportedly announced my resignation ‘out of delicadeza.’ Still, I did not submit any letter as of then,” the former Executive Secretary said.
Lucas Bersamin also denied masterminding “anything”. Malacañang has yet to react to his claims. Amid the corruption allegations, Sec. Ralph Recto spoke about Pres. Bongbong Marcos.