A loyal and competent set of new Cabinet members were hand-picked Wednesday by President Arroyo to replace those running for public office in the May 10, 2010 automated elections.

In her last Cabinet reshuffle before her term ends this June, President Arroyo appointed Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, one of her trusted Cabinet members, as new Executive Secretary and Solicitor General Alberto Agra as Justice Secretary.

Mendoza, a former police chief, replaces Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who will run for congressman in Batangas, while Agra fills the post vacated by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera who is seeking a congressional seat in Quezon.

Ermita, in a press conference in the Palace, said the President also designated Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista to take the place of Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Deputy Director General Rogelio Pijuan to replace Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Augusto Syjuco Jr.

Esperon and Syjuco have joined the congressional race in Pangasinan and Iloilo, respectively.

Bautista rose from the ranks, from being a clerk at the PMS and now its head.

“It’s an honor. I entered government in January 2001 as a clerk at PMS and I will end my government career as its head. It will be a good climax to my government career. I look forward to working again with my old colleagues at PMS,” Bautista told Manila Bulletin in a text message.

Ermita said President Arroyo is considering Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Joaquin Lagonera as a replacement of Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. who is running for congressman in Camarines Sur.

Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Natividad Dizon is also being eyed to take the place of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez who is eyeing the mayoralty of Iloilo City. Ermita said the President has yet to talk to Lagonera and Dizon for the Cabinet positions although the two would likely accept the new porfolio.

The President had earlier appointed Agriculture undersecretary Bernardo Fondevilla to replace Secretary Arthur Yap who will run for congressman in Bohol.

The replacement of Presidential Adviser for External Affairs Edgardo Pamintuan, who will run for mayor of Angeles City, was not yet named by the President.

The latest interim Cabinet appointments came a day after the Supreme Court ruled that appointed officials are deemed resigned once they filed their certificates of candidacy.

Ermita, speaking to reporters as a private citizen, said the President chose the old faces in government to serve in the Cabinet due to their “experience, competence, loyalty, and reliability.”

He said the President wanted to ensure there would be “no hiatus” in government operations with the departure of eight Cabinet members joining the May polls. The Cabinet members affected by the Supreme Court decision had earlier submitted their courtesy resignations to the President, but were criticized for clinging on to their posts.

The outgoing Cabinet members are expected to wind up their affairs and arrange the formal turnover rites this week or early next week, Ermita said.

The replacements of Mendoza at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) and other vacant positions triggered by the Cabinet reshuffle would be announced soon. (With a report from JC Bello Ruiz)