Briceño Defends Former Minister Ferguson’s New Role in Cabinet

Prime Minister John Briceño’s new Cabinet formation has received some criticism from members of the public.

Some ministers were re-instated to oversee the same ministry; others were swapped, and in some cases, some were stripped of their previous role and placed in a role with less of the heavy responsibility of a full ministry.

In this morning’s episode of Open Your Eyes, Prime Minister John Briceño discussed the new ministerial appointments and the key figures in his cabinet. Among them is Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, whom Briceño appointed as Senior Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister. He said she will lead the National AIDS Commission and focus on issues affecting the elderly. The PM also shared that this would be her final term. She will be collaborating with her niece, the newly sworn-in Minister of Human Development, Family Support & Gender Affairs, Thea Garcia-Ramirez.

In the case of Rodwell Ferguson, former Minister of Youth, Sports and Transport, many viewed his appointment as a “demotion” after challenges in his previous portfolio, as he now holds the position of Minister of State: Office of the Prime Minister.

Briceño defended his decision to make him Minister of State and described him as someone of high “likeability .” Briceño added, “I want to be able to use him in special assignments” due to his strong people skills and ability to resolve issues on the ground. “If there’s an issue going on in a ministry or whatever, I would say listen, go there, find out what’s going on for me and let’s see how we can solve these problems. So more of a troubleshooter kind of thing.”

When asked about his last term’s performance and if Ferguson was a good fit for that ministry, Briceño responded, “I don’t think so, back then.”