Yesterday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) dropped a surprise after the agency released a Memorandum from the Secretary of Transportation.

Based on the memo the agency released, newly-minted DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon directed all Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Directors to render their courtesy resignation no later than tomorrow (February 26, 2025).

This caused much speculation and confusion as to why the new DOTr Secretary sent out the memo, and made people think if attached agencies under the DOTr like the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB) are included.

Today, however, Sec. Dizon clarified the matter regarding the courtesy resignation of Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Directors. In a press briefing held recently at the DOTr office, Dizon said the courtesy resignation only affects DOTr officials and the attached agencies are not part of the said resignation.

“First of all, I want to clarify this is only for the Department of Transportation Central Office. This is not for the attached agencies or any of the GOCCs under the Department of Transportation. I want to clarify that again, this is only for the DOTr Central Office,” said Dizon.

But why did Dizon send out a memo for the courtesy resignation of some of the DOTr Central Office's personnel? The Secretary said that this is standard and that a courtesy resignation is a simple gesture of goodwill and good faith to the newly-appointed leadership which will allow the new leader to find the best personnel to do the jobs that need to be done.

However, Dizon mentioned this doesn't mean he will accept all resignations.

“That does not mean I will accept those courtesy resignations in total. It just means that we are now given the free hand to maybe move people around if possible, look at the talents that we have already in the DOTr, and also look at outside talents that will be able to help us,” added Dizon.

Dizon mentioned the DOTr needs to find a way to find the best talent and utilize all personnel both in-house and also from outside of the agency to deliver what President Ferdinand R. Marcos wants us to deliver. These include the fast-tracking of all ongoing projects and finding immediate ways to alleviate the plight of the country's commuters.

As to whether Dizon has already checked if he has received courtesy resignations, he says he will check if there are already personnel who submitted their resignations.