Vince Dizon returns to DOTR, Lopez heads DPWH to ‘accelerate reforms’ — Palace

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered his public works and transportation secretaries to swap posts “to accelerate reform,” Malacañang said on Monday.

This means that Vince Dizon will return to the helm of the Department of Transportation, while Giovanni Lopez will be transferred as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants to accelerate reform and deliver changes Filipinos can see in their lives,” Communications Secretary Lino Cayetano said in a Palace press conference.

“In the President’s own words: ‘We are shifting gears to accelerate reform. Secretary Dizon goes to DOTr to fix the daily commute. Secretary Lopez goes to DPWH to make sure the reforms there last,’” he said.

Lopez, a lawyer and certified public accountant, was “tasked to strengthen safeguards and institutionalize the reforms, turning them into rules, processes and systems that will keep serving Filipinos even after this administration, for decades to come,” Cayetano said. 

Dizon, on the other hand, will continue his work in the transportation department, which he left after Marcos assigned him to the DPWH to clean up corruption issues that surfaced due to anomalous flood control projects.

“At the Department of Public Works and Highways, Secretary Dizon disrupted a system that had protected waste and corruption for years,” Cayetano said.

“Thousands of projects are now open to the public, long-unfinished projects are being completed, and a new culture of transparency and accountability has begun to take root,” he said.

“Secretary Giovanni Lopez will secure these gains with a system built to last,” he said.

“The mission stays the same: a government that works faster, serves better and makes life easier for every Filipino.”

The swap comes weeks after Dizon was dragged into senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Panfilo Lacson’s debate on whether or not there are anomalous flood control projects in Taguig.

It also comes about a month after Marcos’ approval rating languished at 29 percent based on a Pulse Asia poll in September.

But Cayetano dispelled observations that the Cabinet reshuffle could be linked to these developments.

“It’s a direct response sa mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan. Our President doesn’t look at daily numbers when it comes to approval rating,” the official said.

“Ang importante sa Pangulo natin, ano ang puwede nating gawin para makabuti para sa ating mga kababayan, ngayon at baka mas mahalaga pa para bukas, pangmahabaang panahon.”  

“From where I stand and from all my experience interacting with the President, never ho siyang nagdesisyon base ho sa pulitika,” he said. “Ang mga desisyon ho niya nanggagaling sa ano ang mga kailangang reporma sa bawat ahensiya para mapabilis ang daloy ng benepisyo sa ating mga kababayan. I’ve seen him do this across many agencies.”

The DPWH and the DOTr are in different stages, Cayetano said when asked why there was a need for a Cabinet shake-up if the two secretaries were doing well in their respective portfolios.

“Ngayon ho ang DPWH ay nasa isang posisyon kung saan the reforms have been implemented. What we need now is a systems builder, somebody who can take these reforms, make sure from Luzon, Visayas to Mindanao ma-implement siya at masigurado ho bilang a CPA, being a lawyer na these reforms are institutionalized para ho hindi na maulit iyong nangyari ho dati, hindi na maulit iyong nangyayari nang ilang dekada na sa DPWH,” he said.

“The President thinks Secretary Banoy, a systems builder, is the best person for the job; at pagdating ho sa DOTr, alam naman natin iyong klase ng trabaho ni Secretary Vince Dizon,” he said.

“So, naniniwala tayo that it’s the right time para sa dalawa para i-takeover iyong ahensiyang iyon base sa mga kaniya-kaniya nilang galing at karanasan para madala ho iyong misyon na gusto ng ating Pangulo sa sambayanang Pilipino,” he said.

While Cayetano said that the swap is effective immediately, the Palace has yet to announce when Dizon and Lopez would take fresh oaths for their new mandates.