WHAT EXACTLY IS A CABINET SECRETARY? AND WHY IS ABALOS ONE NOW?

[An MCT Commentary]

People saw the announcement and did a double take. Benhur Abalos, appointed as Cabinet Secretary. And the immediate question online was something like: wait, isn't that office gone? Cabinet secretary ng ano?

FIRST, A QUICK REFRESHER

The Cabinet, as most Filipinos understand it, is the group of department heads sitting around a very long table in Malacañang. You have the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Health, and so on. Each one runs a department. Each one has a clear mandate, a clear budget, and a clear sign on their office door.

The Cabinet Secretary is different. The Cabinet Secretary does not run a department. The role sits inside the Office of the President itself.

Historically, the Cabinet Secretary's job was to keep the Cabinet running as a machine.

That means preparing agenda items for Cabinet meetings, facilitating discussions, making sure the President gets timely information, and acting as a liaison between the President and the rest of government.

Think of it less like a department head and more like a very senior chief of staff with political reach.

THE OFFICE THAT MARCOS HIMSELF ABOLISHED

Here is where it gets worth talking about.

On his very first day in office on June 30, 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 1.

Among other things, EO 1 abolished the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, saying the administration wanted to streamline government by removing "duplicated and overlapping official functions".

So the man abolished the position. Four years later, the same man is reviving it to appoint someone he clearly trusts.

That tells you something. Not necessarily bad, just telling.

Marcos Jr. is bringing back a post he once said was redundant.

The reason, according to Palace press officer Claire Castro, is that Abalos will provide "timely, relevant, and strategic advice on emerging national, local, and international issues affecting the political landscape".

He will also serve as Marcos' liaison to government agencies, LGUs (local government units), political organizations, civil society groups, and sectoral organizations on matters of political concern.

And there is the STAR (Strategic Action and Response) Office, which Abalos will head.

That office handles citizen concerns, the 8888 Complaint Center, and government responsiveness functions.

It is a real operational desk, not just a ceremonial one.

So the role being revived here is part political fixer, part institutional coordinator, part early warning system for the President.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXECUTIVE SECRETARY AND CABINET SECRETARY

The Executive Secretary is the President's primary alter ego. The office directly assists the President in managing the whole executive branch, implements presidential directives, decides on matters that do not need the President's personal attention, and exercises supervision and control over units in the Office of the President and many attached agencies.

In practice, the Executive Secretary can issue orders in the name of the President and review or modify decisions made by other Cabinet secretaries on appeal.

The Cabinet Secretary, by contrast, sits inside the Office of the President but does not function as the President's alter ego.

The role heads the Cabinet Secretariat, which is tasked to organize Cabinet meetings, monitor implementation of presidential directives and Cabinet decisions, coordinate policy discussions among departments, and help integrate and implement the administration's programs across agencies.

The Cabinet Secretary is more of a coordinator and integrator of the President's initiatives, while the Executive Secretary is the chief manager and controller of the executive branch.

NOW, ABOUT ABALOS

I have been watching Benhur Abalos for a while.

And the one word that keeps coming up around him, from his own allies and even his critics, is that he is a man of action.

The MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) itself described him that way when he left the post in 2022, saying he "initiated vital projects, such as flood control mitigating measures, traffic reduction initiatives, sanitation" programs.

Before MMDA, he was mayor of Mandaluyong City for years.

Under his watch, Mandaluyong was recognized twice as the most business-friendly city in the country.

He launched Project TEACH, which gave free therapy, education, and medical assistance to children with disabilities, and it won a UN (United Nations) Public Service Award. He built the Garden of Life Park out of an overcrowded cemetery, which won the Galing Pook Award.

When he moved to the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government), he did not coast on the desk job.

He pushed the BIDA (Buhay Ingatan, Droga'y Ayawan) anti-drug program hard, reporting that in its first year alone, the program aided in the seizure of over P10 billion worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of more than 56,000 drug suspects.

He pressed for BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection) modernization and digitalization of LGU frontline services.

DILG won its competence award for the fifth time under his tenure.

He reportedly rated number one among top-performing Cabinet officials with a 93 percent performance rating.

Then he stepped down in 2024 to run for senator. He got 11.5 million votes and placed 16th, four spots short of the winning circle.

Now he is back.

THE HONEST ASSUMPTION I AM MAKING

I want to be straight about this because I could be wrong.

A Cabinet Secretary role, as structured, is largely a behind-the-scenes post.

You coordinate, you advise, you facilitate.

The wins are not always visible.

Your name does not make headlines when a barangay gets a new fire truck or when a drug lord gets caught.

You are the oil in the engine, not the engine itself.

Abalos has spent his career being the engine.

Mayor, MMDA chair, campaign manager for Marcos, DILG secretary, senatorial candidate.

Every single post he has held required him to be publicly visible, operationally hands-on, and directly accountable for results you could count or photograph or protest.

A Cabinet Secretary who primarily advises and coordinates? That is a different rhythm entirely.

And for someone who is clearly wired to deliver tangible, measurable outcomes, sitting in a room making sure Cabinet meetings run smoothly might feel like wearing shoes two sizes too tight.

I am being obvious about this assumption. I could be completely wrong.

But based on what I have observed, Abalos tends to find his energy in the field, not in the palace corridors.

WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT

That said, the job is what the job is. And given the specific mandate Marcos gave him, this is not exactly a ceremonial posting.

He heads the STAR Office, which means citizen complaints and government responsiveness will go through him.

He will serve as political liaison, which in the Philippines means he will be managing relationships with governors, mayors, civil society groups, and organized political blocs.

He will be Marcos' political eyes and ears, the man who tells the President what is actually happening out there before it becomes a problem.

That last part, frankly, does suit him. Abalos has spent decades building relationships across LGUs.

He knows how barangays work, how local chief executives think, and how political alliances form and fall apart.

If anyone can make that liaison role actually functional and not just ceremonial, it is probably him.

In Kazan last June, Marcos said he wanted Abalos to "play a more active role in government" because he had already been helping the administration informally for a while. Reading between that, Abalos was already doing the work without the title. The appointment just makes it official.

So the post may be a desk job on paper. But the man holding it has never treated any post like a desk job.

We will see if that changes here, or if he finds a way to make the Cabinet Secretariat into something people actually notice.

CAVEAT:

This piece is not a favor to Malacañang or to Benhur Abalos. I have been harsh on officials who do not perform, and the record is there in what I wrote about Jonvic Remulla and Sara Duterte.

Abalos is now back inside government, which means he joins the long list of names I watch closely, not a short list of people I cheer for.

The rule is simple: praise what works, even if I dislike the person, and criticize what fails, even if I am personally inclined to like them.