Malacanang on Friday confirmed the termination of Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno following reports that she was “maligning” the administration.
In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Magno had always been critical of the government’s policies even before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office.
“She has been against the policies of this administration and made it known to the public on social media long before the President even assumed office,” Bersamin said in a statement.
“Instead of working together with colleagues in the government to address any concerns, they were instead constantly done so through public fora,” it added.
Magno announced her resignation on Thursday, days after she posted a graph depicting the law of supply and demand, which social media users saw as a subtle jab at the administration’s use of price ceilings on rice.
“The termination of her appointment could only be expected as she clearly does not support the administration and its programs for nation-building,” the statement read.
“While we support anyone’s right to free speech, it would be counter-intuitive to have someone be part of the administration who was clearly set on maligning it to begin with,” Bersamin said.
In a Facebook post, Magno said it was an honor to serve in the government.
“Thank you. It was an honor serving the country. I can sleep soundly knowing that I did my best serving our country and advocating the interest of our people. Always for the people. Honor and excellence,” Magno said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Earlier reports said Magno filed her resignation effective Sept. 16, 2023. In a Facebook post, Magno wrote: “A wise man told me, if you do your job with integrity, you will be back in UPSE soon,” referring to the University of the Philippines School of Economics. Magno had also posted that “I miss teaching.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier approved the recommendation to impose mandated price ceilings on rice nationwide to ensure the availability of the staple at a reasonable price.
As an undersecretary at the Department of Finance, Magno oversaw theFiscal Policy and Monitoring Group, which is responsible for recommending fiscal policies, formulating tax reform proposals, and forecasting and programming national government revenues.
The advocacy group Action for Economic Reforms said Magno was “mostprofessional” and said statements that she “clearly does not support the administration and its programs for nation building” and “was clearly set on maligning [the administration] to begin with” were baseless and unfair.
“To be sure, policy disagreements are unavoidable, and that is acceptable. Disagreements and debates, in fact, strengthen policy making and institution building,” the group said. “The most appropriate and robust policies arise from a process that subjects proposals and measures to deep scrutiny. Constructive criticism should be encouraged.”
“We believe that President Marcos Jr. welcomes such debates. In fact, he must be credited for having a diverse Cabinet, accommodating men and women associated with different political colors. After all, his campaign promise that resonated with the electorate was unity,” it added.
“Undersecretary Magno’s forced departure from the DOF means that the administration is jeopardizing and forgoing the opportunity to enact positive reforms. The administration has lost a reformer with technical expertise who can reach out to sectors with varying persuasions — politicians, investors and businessmen, people’s organizations, academics, and the international community. It has lost a reformer who has the technical grasp and the political acumen to shepherd the reforms.”