Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Cabinet men vow to stay with Arroyo
THE Arroyo Cabinet rejected calls for a mass resignation preferring to stay with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whom they said deserves to finish her mandate until 2010.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who read a joint Cabinet statement, said all members of "the Cabinet are solidly behind President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."
Ermita denied that some members of the economic managers led by Finance Secretary Margarito Teves are considering quitting their posts adding that they are a signatory in the manifesto.
"There are no talks about anybody getting out of the Cabinet so, I stand by this statement I just read. Nobody in the Cabinet. I mean everybody in the Cabinet is sticking out with us. We stand together," he said.
A joint statement was released to the media, but it did not include the list of Cabinet members or those who supposedly signed the manifesto. There are more than 30 Cabinet officials who include presidential advisers and assistants that are also Cabinet rank.
The statement reads that they "in the Cabinet firmly believe that the President is doing much for our country especially for the economy and she deserves to finish her mandated term until 2010."
"We in the Cabinet will stay with her (President Arroyo) and continue to focus on our work. We will not allow ourselves to be distracted by political noises. The Cabinet members take pride in working with the President in uplifting the lives of the people," the statement further reads.
The Cabinet members also stated that the allegations of resigned Philippine Forest Corp. president Rodolfo Lozada Jr. in the Senate's inquiry on alleged irregularities in a telecommunications deal with a Chinese firm should instead be discussed in court which they felt is the proper venue and in accordance with due process.
"While the country's problems are deeply rooted, we firmly believe that political, social and economic reforms are achievable under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with the support and cooperation of political and social leaders," they added
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Antonio Apostol rejected any need for a loyalty check among the Cabinet, confident that everyone supports Arroyo.
"We are all behind the President," he said.
At least 60 former senior officials from the Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo governments urged the present Cabinet to "cut clean" and expose wrongdoings in the current administration. (JMR/Sunnex)
