PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has told previous interviews that he wants to retain former Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo in his administration and he has other plans for the former journalist.
Erwin has been bypassed the Commission on Appointments due to citizenship issues hurled at him. He did not get the CA nod despite his good performance during his stint as DSWD secretary.
He was first replaced by the equally hardworking DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay before the appointment of Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian.
The real statesman that he is, Erwin, instead of sourgraping, immediately issued a statement welcoming the appointment of his replacement in the DSWD.
According to Erwin, he believes that the President made the right choice and that the department he used to head will be in good hands. He even expressed optimism that the new DSWD Secretary will be able to deliver and that social services will always come on time, especially during calamities.
Gatchalian will have big shoes to fill, considering the kind of work and dedication that Erwin and his handpicked undersecretaries, Jerico Javier and Rommel Lopez, exhibited during their very short stint at the DSWD.
President Marcos himself must have really seen and felt the output of Erwin and his team as they responded to a number of calamities that hit the country when Erwin was at the helm of the DSWD.
In fact, the President was quoted as saying that Erwin “did a very good job”.
“We can’t lose that kind of asset. So we’ll find something that he can do so we could take advantage of his good instincts when it comes to social service,” President Marcos went on to say.
Indeed, Erwin is an asset not only because he is intelligent, decent and hardworking.
President Marcos and his administration also stand to benefit from Erwin’s connections with his colleagues in the media industry and the rapport he had established with them over the years. With Erwin as part of the government’s Cabinet, media support will not be hard to come by.
Erwin was able to perform his functions perfectly owing to his background as a member of the media for the longest time.
Having covered the nooks and crannies of the country and its societal issues and problems, Erwin knows fully well what needs to be addressed, how to go about it swiftly and efficiently and what the people need, especially those belonging to the depressed areas and victims of calamities.
Amid the pronouncements made by the President that he intends to make use of Erwin’s “good instincts” in public service, the former DSWD chief said he is not about to pressure the President or the administration into appointing him into another government position.
“I am not pushing for that. If it’s really there, then it is really there” was his statement given to a television interview.
Will the President keep his word or pass up the chance of a better government by keeping Erwin, whom he described as ‘an asset’? Let us hope he does the former for this country’s sake.
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