Two Philippine Cabinet Officials Resign Amid Corruption Probe

Two top officials in Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s cabinet, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, stepped down this week amid allegations tying them to a corruption scandal involving billions of pesos in illegal budget insertions for flood control projects. The Presidential Communications Office announced the departures on November 17 from Malacañang Palace in Manila, stating that the officials tendered their resignations out of delicadeza, or propriety, to allow the administration to address the ongoing investigation.

Bersamin, a former Supreme Court chief justice who had served as executive secretary since September 2022, disputed the palace's characterization of his exit as voluntary. In interviews with reporters on November 19, he said he did not resign but was informed by a close friend outside the palace that morning that he needed to leave the post. "I said there's no problem with that. I will accept that because I am only serving at the pleasure of the president," Bersamin stated. He added that he submitted a letter later that day bowing to Marcos's prerogative but felt the palace announcement preempted his formal...