QUITO, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Ecuador's 15 cabinet ministers and advisors presented resignation en masse on Wednesday to President Alfredo Palacio in a routine step to give him a free hand to choose officials in a planned reshuffle, local press reported.

¡¡¡¡The ministers tendered their resignations at the Carondelet Palace, the seat of Ecuador's government, during a regular cabinet session presided over by Palacio.

    Four ministers may retain their posts, including Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion, Tourism Minister Maria Isabel Salvador, Foreign Trade Minister Jorge Illingworth and Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrin, according to well informed sources who declined to be identified.

    Housing Minister Armando Bravo, Agriculture Minister Pablo Rizzo and Social Security Minister Alberto Rigail may leave their posts in the cabinet reshuffle, the sources said.

    Since taking office on April 20, after then-president Lucio Gutierrez was fired by Congress, Palacio has made many changes to his cabinet, in order to clear the way for political reforms. Enditem