Marcos discussing possible appointments for Rep. Marcoleta, Prof. Carlos

President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he is talking with House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta and retired UP Professor Clarita Carlos regarding potential appointments under his administration.

At a press briefing, Marcos said he is still waiting for the response from the two on what roles in the government they would like to take.

“I always asked them back where do you feel you would be the most useful. So all of them, si Ka Dante Marcoleta, I asked him the same question. And I am waiting for his answer,” he said.

Marcos added that the “legal prowess” of Marcoleta can be of great use in the government.

Marcoleta, a representative of SAGIP party-list, ran for senator under Marcos' ticket in the 2022 elections but withdrew from the race midway into the campaign period, citing poor performance in pre-election surveys.

As for Carlos, a noted political science professor, Marcos said she could help his administration through her knowledge on foreign policy and international politics.

“The propesora, of course, we've been in consultation with her and asking her. And again, it's the same question, where do you feel that you will be the most help? And again we're waiting for that answer,” said Marcos, who was proclaimed Wednesday.

Carlos served as one of the panelists in SMNI presidential interviews, which is one of the few interviews Marcos granted during the campaign period. Aside from being a professor, she is also the first female, civilian president of the National Defense College of the Philippines.

With still more than a month before his inauguration, Marcos is in the process of assembling his Cabinet following his landslide victory in the May 9 elections.

So far he has named Vice President-elect Sara Duterte to the Department of Education, former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla to the Department of Justice, Arsenio Balisacan to the National Economic and Development Authority, Bienvenido Laguesma to the Department of Labor and Employment, and Susan Ople to the newly created Department of Migrant Workers.

In the same briefing on Thursday, Marcos also said he has tapped Fred Pascual, Manuel "Manny" Bonoan,  central bank governor Benjamin Diokno, and Felipe Medalla to lead the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Finance and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, respectively.

Marcos also said he has picked former lawmaker Anton Lagdameo as his special assistant when he formally assumes the presidency. —KBK, GMA News