Palace: DOF Usec Cielo Magno’s termination of appointment expected

The Office of the Executive Secretary said Friday that the "termination of appointment" of Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno could only be expected as she was supposedly unsupportive of the Marcos administration and its policies.

"The termination of her appointment could only be expected as she clearly does not support the administration and its programs for nation building," the OES said in a statement.

"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. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors moving forward," the OES added.

The OES claimed that Magno has been opposing the policies of the administration, noting that she has been voicing it on social media long before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had assumed office.

"Instead of working together with colleagues in the government to address any concerns, they were instead constantly done so through public fora," the OES said.

On Thursday, Magno confirmed to GMA News Online that she has resigned from her post. She said she had stepped down as undersecretary of the Department of Finance “effective Sept. 16.”

A reliable source said that Magno was asked by Malacañang to resign.

The source said Magno’s apparent firing from the DOF was triggered by her Facebook post that allegedly threw “shade” over the imposition of rice price ceiling.

The post in question shows a graph representing the law of supply and demand — a concept in economics that explains how prices of commodities are influenced by supply and consumer demand — accompanied by a caption “I miss teaching” and a teacher emoji.

As undersecretary, she oversees the DOF’s Fiscal Policy and Monitoring Group, which is responsible for formulating tax reform proposals and other fiscal policy recommendations as the legislative liaison of the DOF.

Magno is also the chairperson of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board’s Technical Committee and the Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee.

Magno said she will return to the academe.

Prior to her stint as DOF undersecretary, Magno was an associate professor in the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News