SENATOR Grace Poe said she would retain President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet members who has been performing well but kick out Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares if she won the presidential race.
“I’m sure you will all agree that you already have a hunch on which departments are actually performing properly and which ones aren’t,” Poe said.
“So maybe we can do a process of elimination.”
Poe, who led a series of public hearings on the sorry state of Metro Rail Transit 3, had recommended the filing of graft charges against Abaya for entering into anomalous contracts that she said endangered the safety of commuters.
She said the BIR must have a chief who would be there to help taxpayers, and not one who would see them as a “party from whom fees and other facilitation payments can be collected.”
“Even if your books are perfect and clean, they still try to find something just so they can get something out of you. And we are sick and tired of that,” Poe said.
She earlier vowed to tap Aquino as his senior adviser in the fight against graft and corruption but she promised not to retain the heads of the DOTC, the BIR and the Department of Agriculture.
At a dialogue with members of the Makati Business Club, Poe was asked to name some of the Cabinet officials that she would invite to her administration. She declined to name names but confirmed she would ask some of Aquino’s people to work with her.
“I do have a few people in mind pertaining to the current administration’s Cabinet members, but with all due respect I should not even mention their names yet because I’ve not asked them formally,” she said.
As the lone independent presidential candidate, Poe has vowed to work for unity if she is elected. She said she would look beyond party alliances in choosing the members of her Cabinet.
“It doesn’t matter to me what party you belong to as long I think you can do the job quickly and properly,” she said.
“Cabinet members should have integrity and credibility.”
Poe said she would form a council of business leaders who would meet regularly with her economic team so they could give their input and feedback on government programs.
“Accountability will be a cornerstone of my administration. Those who do not meet their targets will be asked to stand down.”
Poe also vowed to lower taxes for the benefit of the poor and raise the budget for infrastructure spending by at least P250 billion annually.
She said the tax rates should be set by the economic planners and not the BIR.
She said she would be supporting the signing of free trade agreements with other nations.