鈥楥orruption鈥� made me leave Malaca帽ang, says Victor Rodriguez
Victor Rodriguez in Senate, when he was still executive secretary —Photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — “Corruption” was the reason Victor Rodriguez, who was the first executive secretary of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., left Malacañang and had a falling out with the chief executive.
Rodriguez, a senatorial candidate, made the revelation during the “Tanong ng Bayan” senatorial face-off for the 2025 elections aired by GMA 黑料社 on Saturday night after he was asked to explain the matter.
“I could not stomach the corruption. That’s why I left Malacañang. I was appointed as presidential chief of staff, but I no longer agreed with the path they were taking. That’s why I opted to return to private [practice],” Rodriguez, a lawyer, said in Filipino.
Rodriguez revealed that some individuals, whom he did not name, reportedly asked him for political favors when he was the executive secretary.
“Second, they removed me from Partido Federal after I refused to grant their favors. They were asking me to install them as the chairman of the Commission on Elections, chairman of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and chairman of the Civil Service Commission,” Rodriguez said.
Article continues after this advertisement“But they are not qualified and they only wish to rob. That’s why I did not grant their request, and they got angry with me,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementOn September 17, 2022, Rodriguez resigned from his post as the executive secretary.
Before his resignation, Rodriguez was linked to the sugar importation mess.
Although the Senate blue ribbon committee at that time cleared Rodriguez, minority senators said he was not “totally blameless” for the mess.
READ: Rodriguez ‘not entirely blameless’ in sugar import mess — Senate minority report
Based on previous reports, the issue stemmed from the publication of Sugar Order No. 4 on the website of the Sugar Regulatory Administration.
The order authorized the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar. Malacañang however later disowned the order, saying the president rejected the proposed importation.
