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Saturday, November 22, 2003
Glo's top adviser resigns Nov. 30
* At a hurriedly assembled news conference, Finance Secretary Jose Camacho, most senior economic adviser to President Arroyo, says he's happy Arroyo has accepted his resignation; no replacement yet, says Palace chief of staff Rigoberto Tiglao
* Resignation suspends reforms in customs, BIR, which may worry lenders abroad
* Camacho has tangled with GSIS chief Winston Garcia of Cebu, openly asked the latter's sacking but has not been heeded by the President
* There will be a temporary negative effect on business, Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis
MANILA -- President Arroyo Friday accepted the irrevocable resignation of Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, who has long expressed his desire to return to the private sector.
Presidential chief of staff Rigoberto Tiglao said Camacho would have bowed out of office in July but was prevailed upon to stay due to the Oakwood mutiny of July 27.
He said Camacho's resignation would be effective November 30.
Camacho, 48, said "a combination of many, many reasons" prompted his resignation, to take effect on Nov. 30, and told in a news conference that "frustration comes with the job."
"I'm happy the President has accepted my resignation," said the former banker, whose international stature lent credibility to the country in the eyes of financing institutions abroad.
Camacho's two-year tenure in the finance portfolio was marked by battles with bureaucrats at the internal revenue and customs bureaus, as well as with a legislature that balked at some of his crucial tax reform plans.
His clashes included one with Cebuano lawyer Winston Garcia, whose handling of the Government Service Insurance System the finance department criticized.
Replacement
Press Secretary Milton Alingod said Finance Undersecretary for international relations Juanita Amatong would be the acting Finance Secretary until Arroyo appoints Camacho's replacement. Camacho has recommended Amatong to succeed him.
But Sergio Ortiz-Luis, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he believed Amatong would only be a temporary replacement because she lacked her boss' international stature.
"What would be important really is we are able to get in somebody who will also get that kind of confidence," Ortiz-Luis said in a television interview.
Improved revenues helped the country rein in its budget deficit in October to P21.17 billion, or 5.2 percent below the programmed ceiling.
The January-October fiscal deficit stands at P163.88 billion, or 4.7 percent below the limit, the Department of Finance said on Wednesday.
Government believes it will be able to keep the deficit within the full-year target ceiling of P202 billion.
Camacho said he was frustrated at the slow pace of fiscal reforms, which has served as a drag on the economy.
After his announcement, National Treasurer Sergio Edeza said he will also resign at the end of the year.
President Arroyo said in a statement that she accepted Camacho's resignation, after he "expressed his desire to move on in his professional life."
"He has been trying very hard to get Congress to pass several bills critical to increasing the revenues of the government, and has not been successful," said Peter Wallace, head of the Manila-based economic consultancy firm Wallace Business Forum.
"And yet he then gets flayed for having allowed such a deficit when he can't be given the revenues he needs to have," Wallace said.
"I think he's just worn out. I can't blame him a bit."
His resignation was announced after the Philippine Stock Exchange ended trading for the week.
"I'm sure there will be at the very least a temporary negative effect on business sentiment," said Ortiz-Luis.
"The financing community here and abroad will be watching who Arroyo will name as replacement," he added.
Camacho was first appointed by Arroyo as Energy Secretary on Feb. 28, 2001 but was later appointed as Finance secretary on May 16 also in 2001.
Camacho, prior to his appointment in government, was managing director and chief country officer for the Philippines of the Deutsche Bank AG since April 2000. (SCT with AFP)
(November 22, 2003 issue)
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