Cabinet and other Officials

Vice President & Secretary of Education

Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio  born May 31, 1978, commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipina lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president, the third vice president to come from Mindanao, and the youngest vice president in Philippine history. Duterte is also the secretary of education, holding the post in a concurrent capacity. A daughter of 16th president Rodrigo Duterte, she previously served as the mayor of Davao City from 2016 to 2022, and from 2010 to 2013. She was also Davao City’s vice mayor from 2007 to 2010.

Duterte graduated from San Pedro College, initially aiming to pursue a medical career, before taking up a law degree initially from San Beda College but graduated in San Sebastian College – Recoletos. She was elected as Davao City’s vice mayor in 2007, before eventually being elected as the city’s mayor from 2010 until 2013, succeeding her father and becoming the youngest and the first female mayor of the city. After her first term ended, she took a brief hiatus, returning to politics in 2016 after being elected again as Davao City mayor and was reelected in 2019. During her second stint as mayor, she initiated the Byaheng DO30 and Peace 911 programs in the city, as well as overseeing the city government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Duterte was also an influential figure in national politics during her father’s presidency, forming alliances with several political parties and playing a key role in the ouster of Pantaleon Alvarez as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2018.

Duterte ran for the vice presidency in 2022 under Lakas–CMD, becoming the running mate of Bongbong Marcos from the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas under the UniTeam Alliance. Their ticket won in a landslide victory, becoming the first running mate pair to win together since 2004 and the first to be elected by a majority since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1986. Duterte became the vice president on June 30, 2022 and was inaugurated 11 days earlier in Davao City.

Executive Secretary

Lucas Purugganan Bersamin (born October 18, 1949) is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who currently serves as the 40th Executive Secretary of the Philippines. Bersamin previously served in the Supreme Court of the Philippines for 10 years, first as an associate justice from 2009 to 2018 and then as the 25th Chief Justice of the Philippines from 2018 until his retirement in 2019. He was named by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the high court as an associate justice on April 2, 2009. Prior to becoming an associate justice, he was a member of the Court of Appeals.

He was the chairperson of the Government Service Insurance System and a member of its board of trustees since 2020^. until his appointment as Executive Secretary in the Marcos Jr. administration, as confirmed by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on September 27, 2022.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Enrique A. Manalo (born July 21, 1952) is a Filipino diplomat currently serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Marcos administration since July 1, 2022. He previously served in an acting role under the Duterte administration from March 9 to May 17, 2017when Perfecto Yasay Jr.’s ad-interim appointment confirmation was rejected by the Commission on Appointments due to citizenship issues. He also previously served as Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2016, Undersecretary for Policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2020, and the 21st Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations from 2020 to 2022.

Secretary of Finance

Benjamin Estoista Diokno (born March 31, 1948) is a Filipino economist currently serving as the 32nd Secretary of Finance under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. since June 30, 2022. He previously served as Secretary of Budget and Management under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2019, and under President Joseph Estrada from 1998 until the latter’s ouster in 2001. He also served as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and ex officio chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council from 2019 to 2022 under President Duterte and undersecretary for Budget Operations of the Department of Budget and Management from 1986 to 1991 under President Corazon Aquino. From 2020 to 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Diokno became the highest paid public officer in the Philippines.

Secretary of Justice

Jesus Crispin “Boying” Catibayan Remulla (born March 31, 1961) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and broadcaster currently serving as Secretary of Justice since 2022. He previously served as the representative of Cavite’s 7th district from 2019 to 2022, the position he previously held from 2010 to 2013, and was concurrently the House Senior Deputy Majority Leader. He also served as the provincial governor of Cavite from 2016 to 2019, and was the representative of the province’s 3rd district from 2004 to 2010. He is also a radio host for “Executive Session” on DZRH. Remulla is one of the vocal opponents against ABS-CBN and is among the 70 congressmen who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

Remulla took up political science as well as graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1987, where he was a fellow of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. He passed the bar exam in 1988. He is member of the Remulla political dynasty of Cavite: His father, Juanito, was the provincial governor for fourteen years. His brother Gilbert, a former television reporter for ABS-CBN, was the representative of the 2nd district from 2001 to 2007. His other brother, Jonvic, is the current provincial governor.

His son Crispin Diego Remulla suceeded him in the 2023 Cavite’s 7th congressional district special election.

Secretary of Public Works and Highways

Manuel Manligas Bonoan is a Filipino businessman and engineer who was the president and chief executive officer of SMC Tollways. He is currently the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways since June 30, 2022.

Bonoan is the president and chief executive officer of SMC Tollways, the operator of Skyway, NAIA Expressway, South Luzon Expressway, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, and Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway tollways. He was also president of the Skyway O&M Corporation, the operator of Skyway and NAIA Expressway led by Ramon Ang, prior to his involvement with SMC Tollways.

Secretary of Labor and Employment

Bienvenido Estudillo Laguesma (born October 3, 1950 in Santa Cruz, Manila) is a Filipino government official, lawyer and businessman who is currently the Secretary of Labor and Employment since June 30, 2022.

Secretary of National Defense

Carlito Guancing Galvez Jr. born December 12, 1962) is a retired Philippine Army general serving as the Senior Undersecretary and officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense. He previously served as the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process during the presidencies of Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos from 2018 to 2022. He also served as the Chief Implementer of the Philippines’ Declared National Policy Against COVID-19 (COVID-19 National Task Force). In November 2020, he was appointed as the country’s COVID-19 vaccine czar, and was responsible for leading the government’s efforts in bringing into the country about 245.23 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of May 2022 beginning in 2021 despite the global vaccine shortage. Prior to this, he also previously served as the 50th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from April to December 2018.

Secretary of Health

Maria Rosario Clarissa Singh-Vergeire (born Maria Rosario Clarissa Dumandan Singh) is a Filipino physician and public health official serving as the Acting Secretary of the Department of Health since July 14, 2022, following her appointment by President Bongbong Marcos. She served as an undersecretary as well as the spokesperson of the Department of Health since 2015 under the Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte administrations.

Secretary of Trade and Industry

Alfredo “Fred” Espinosa Pascual (born July 7, 1948) is a Filipino international development banker and finance expert, currently serving as the Secretary of Trade and Industry under the administration of Bongbong Marcos since June 30, 2022. He also served as the 20th President of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) System, from 2011 to 2017. He was a member of the U.P. Board of Regents, the university’s highest policy-making and governing body, representing the alumni, just before he was elected as U.P. President, the first non-faculty member to hold the position.

Currently, he is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), a non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1999 to lead in the advocacy for good governance in the corporate sector of the Philippines.

Secretary of Migrant Workers

Maria Susana “Toots” Vasquez Ople (born February 9, 1962) is a Filipino politician and advocate of Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) rights who is the first Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers.

Secretary of Human Settlements and Urban Development

Jose “Jerry” Rizalino Larion Acuzar (born June 19, 1955) is a Filipino business executive who is the founder of New San Jose Builders. He also serves as the current Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development since July 29, 2022.

Secretary of Social Welfare and Development

Rexlon Ting Gatchalian (born January 21, 1979) is a Filipino politician serving as the 28th Secretary of Social Welfare and Development since 2023. He previously served as the district representative and Mayor of Valenzuela, Philippines. He is the brother of politicians Win Gatchalian and Wes Gatchalian.

Secretary of Agrarian Reform

Conrado Masonsong Estrella III (born September 12, 1960) is a Filipino politician serving as the Secretary of Agrarian Reform since June 30, 2022. He was previously one of the deputy speakers of the 18th Congress under the leadership of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco.

Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

Maria Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga is a Filipino government official who serves as the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Secretary of the Interior and Local Government

Benjamin “Benhur” de Castro Abalos Jr. (born July 19, 1962) is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government since 2022. Before his appointment as DILG secretary, he last served as the Chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) under the Duterte administration from 2021 to 2022. Previously, he served as the city mayor of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, for five terms, as congressman and as councilor of the same city. He is the son of Benjamin Abalos, a former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and MMDA chairman.

Secretary of Tourism

Ma. Esperanza Christina Codilla Frasco (born Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia Codilla; December 25, 1981), also known as Christina Garcia Frasco, is a Filipino politician serving as Secretary of Tourism since June 30, 2022. She was the mayor of Liloan, Cebu from 2016 to 2022.

Frasco is a lawyer by profession, having previously practiced international arbitration and commercial litigation in the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and Delos Angeles law firm. She is the daughter of incumbent Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and granddaughter of former governor and representative Pablo P. Garcia.

Secretary of Transportation

Jaime Jimenez Bautista (born February 10, 1957) is a Filipino businessman who is currently the Secretary of the Department of Transportation of the Philippines since June 30, 2022. He previously served as president and chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines from 2004 to 2012, and again from 2014 up to 2019.

Secretary of Science and Technology

Renato Umali Solidum, Jr. is a Filipino geologist and government official who is currently serving as the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) since August 13, 2022. Before his appointment as Secretary, Solidum served as an Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation at DOST and as the Officer-in-Charge of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)

Secretary of Budget and Management

Amenah “Mina” Flaminiano Pangandaman is a Filipina economist who is the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of the Philippines since June 30, 2022. She is the first Muslim budget secretary and the only Muslim in the cabinet of President Bongbong Marcos. Her appointment was approved by the Commission on Appointments on September 28, 2022.

Secretary of Energy

Raphael Perpetuo Mercado Lotilla (born June 16, 1958),also known as Popo, is a Filipino lawyer, businessman and government official. He is the Secretary of Energy under the administrations of Presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Bongbong Marcos, respectively.

Secretary of Information and Communications Technology

Ivan John Enrile Uy is a Filipino lawyer and IT Expert who is currently the Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) since June 30, 2022.

Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority

Arsenio Molina Balisacan (born November 8, 1957) is a Filipino economist and academician currently serving as the Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Balisacan first served as the NEDA Secretary from May 2012 to January 2016 under the Benigno Aquino III administration. He then served under the Duterte administration as the Chairperson of the Philippine Competition Commission from February 1, 2016 to June 30, 2022. He was again appointed as NEDA Secretary under the Bongbong Marcos administration. During his first term in 2012, he concurrently served as NEDA Secretary and as Chairman of the Boards of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Center for Economic Development, and Public-Private Partnership Center.

Prior to his Cabinet appointment, Balisacan served as both Professor and Dean of the School of Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP) while he was running the Philippine Center for Economic Development as its Executive Director. He additionally served as the Director-Chief Executive of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), during a period of secondment from the University.

Balisacan also served as a research fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu and an economist at the World Bank in Washington, DC prior to joining the UP faculty in 1987. As a PhD in Economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Balisacan is a renowned academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) since 2008.

Press Secretary

Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil is a Filipino lawyer and former journalist who serves as the Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office.

National Security Adviser

Eduardo Manahan Año  born October 26, 1961 is a Filipino public official and retired general of the Philippine Army who currently serves as the National Security Adviser under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos since 2023. He previously served as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2018 to 2022, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 2016 to 2017, and the Commanding General of the Philippine Army from 2015 to 2016. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Año, along with the rest of the Philippine government’s Cabinet Secretaries, became part of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a task force formed to advise the President on the strategies which would effectively manage the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Secretary of the Presidential Management Staff

Elaine T. Masukat (OIC)

Solicitor General

Menardo “Boy” Ilasco Guevarra (born May 23, 1954) is a Filipino lawyer and public servant who is the incumbent Solicitor General of the Philippines under the Marcos administration since 2022. He previously served as the Secretary of Justice and deputy executive secretary under the Duterte and Aquino administrations. Prior to his government stint, he was involved in private litigation practice as a founding partner of the Medialdea Ata Bello Guevarra & Suarez law firm since 1990. He was also an active faculty member at his alma mater Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated in 1974. Guevarra’s appointment to the Justice portfolio was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on May 30, 2018.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel 

Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos; his role in the failed coup that helped hasten the 1986 People Power Revolution and the ouster of Marcos; and his tenure in the Philippine legislature in the years after the revolution. Enrile has served four terms in the Senate, in a total of twenty-three years, he holds the third longest-tenure in the history of the upper chamber. In 2022, at the age of 98, he returned to government office as the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel in the administration of Bongbong Marcos. Enrile was a protégé of President Ferdinand Marcos who served as Justice Secretary and Defense Minister during the Marcos administration. Enrile played a key role in the planning and documentary legwork for Martial Law, and was in charge of the Philippine Military during its implementation. Other roles in this period included Presidency of the Philippine Coconut Authority through which he gained control of the copra industry together with Danding Cojuangco, and being the general put in charge of logging in the Philippines under martial law – a period during which lumber exports were so extensive that the forest cover of the Philippines shrank until only 8% remained. By the 1980s, however, rising factionalism in the Marcos administration led to a reduction in Enrile’s influence within the administration.

Enrile and the Reform the Armed Forces Movement organized a plot to overthrow Marcos in February 1986, but they were discovered. Deciding to stage a last stand in Camp Aguinaldo, Enrile sought support from other units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and received it from Philippine Constabulary General Fidel Ramos in nearby Camp Crame, who joined Enrile in withdrawing support for Marcos in February 1986. Marcos moved to put down the dissenters in Camps Aguinaldo and Crame, but civilians who were already preparing mass protests in response to electoral fraud during the 1986 Philippine presidential election went en masse to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue near Enrile and Ramos’s forces, and prevented Marcos from assaulting the coup organizers. This mass movement of citizens to protect Enrile and Ramos was one of the key moments of the 1986 People Power Revolution which drove Marcos out of power and into exile. Enrile has continued to be a politician since 1986; he was the Senate Presidentfrom November 2008 until his resignation on June 5, 2013. He remained a Senator until 2016, latterly as Minority Leader.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity

Isidro Purisima

Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications

Soriano was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father is director and pastor Jeric Soriano, the son of actor Nestor de Villa. At the age of 8, Soriano moved to Manila and attended high school at International School Manila, before moving back to the United States to attend De Anza College in Cupertino, California and Santa Clara University, where he studied filmmaking. He then returned to Manila after college.

Soriano married his long-time girlfriend Toni Gonzaga on June 12, 2015 in Gonzaga’s hometown, Taytay, Rizal. Gonzaga gave birth to their first child, Severiano Elliott, on September 30, 2016.

Special Assistant to the President

Antonio Ernesto “Anton” Floirendo Lagdameo Jr. (born January 22, 1968) is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as the Special Assistant to the President since June 2022 in President Bongbong Marcos’ administration. He was the Representative of Davao del Norte’s 2nd district from 2007 to 2016. He is married to actress Dawn Zulueta, and is a member of the wealthy Floirendo clan in Southern Mindanao. Lagdameo is a grandson of “banana king” Antonio Floirendo Sr., one of Ferdinand Marcos’ cronies, through the former’s daughter Linda Floirendo-Lagdameo.

As a public servant, Lagdameo’s main focus was on rural and agricultural development, social conservatism, education and lifelong learning, tourism and sustainable development. He is the largest individual donor to the 2022 presidential campaign of Bongbong Marcos, contributing more than ₱240 million to the campaign