Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual has decided to quit his post to return to the private sector, Malacanan Palace announced Wednesday.
The Presidential Communications Office said Pascual’s resignation was accepted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and will take effect on Friday, August 2.
The PCO quoted President Marcos as saying that he “was sorry to lose him (Pascual), but we respect his decision that this is the time for him to return to the private sector.”
President Marcos has yet to name a replacement and the PCO said the search for a new DTI secretary has started in earnest to ensure program continuity and seamless transition in the department whose focus is investment, industry development, and consumer welfare.
There have been market talks that point to Senator Grace Poe, presidential adviser Frederick Go, and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan as among those being considered for the DTI portfolio.
Pascual’s exit comes at a time when government planners are implementing inflation-busting measures such as price monitoring activities, interest rate management, fiscal reforms and other measures to ensure the country’s continued growth over the long horizon.
Pascual has led efforts combating price manipulators to protect consumers at a time when inflation, or the rate of change in prices, stubbornly resists returning to the 2 to 4 percent government target.
