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Monday, September 26, 2005
Security adviser to undergo heart surgery
MANILA -- With National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales confined in the hospital and scheduled to undergo a heart operation, who is running the Office of the National Security Adviser and overseeing the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica)?
Malacañang officials appeared unsure Sunday and gave conflicting answers.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Gonzales's health is already stable and has in fact continued to supervise and send out instructions to his subordinates despite being confined at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) in Quezon City.
Press Secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye, on the other hand, said Gonzales is already "technically on sick leave," adding that he is even unable to answer text messages.
Both Bunye and Ermita however agreed that no officer-in-charge has been appointed by Gonzales.
Bunye said he has not been able to visit Gonzales at the hospital although he had planned to visit him Saturday. He said he just sent a text message but it seemed he was not in a position to send back text messages.
Ermita, who visited and stayed for almost an hour with Gonzales Saturday, said that although the security adviser is getting well, he needs to undergo more tests and possibly a "coronary angioplasty" Monday to prevent blockage in the artery.
He said Gonzales suffered a mild heart attack in addition to having low blood sugar during Wednesday's Senate hearing when he was grilled by senators on the controversial Venable LLP contract.
Overworked heart
Lugerio Torres, medical director at the PHC, said that after the first set of tests on Gonzales they found he was suffering from lack of oxygen supply in the heart muscle due to a blockage in the arteries.
"This means that during strenuous exercise or a stressful situation, the patient's heart was overworked. If the oxygen supply will be inadequate, the heart may suffer stoppage or what we call heart attack," he said.
The doctor said Gonzales might undergo an angioplasty heart operation to prevent a possible heart stroke in the future.
The executive secretary said they are hoping that the Senate would act on the letter sent to the Senate blue ribbon committee requesting the release of Gonzales. He said they cited the provisions on separation of powers among co-equal branches of government and the confidentiality clause on national security matters to convince the senators to grant the plea.
Ermita said that despite the findings, Gonzales continues to oversee the work at the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Nica. He said Gonzales continues to be in touch with his people through telephone and some of the paper works in his office are sent to him at the hospital.
He reiterated that Gonzales should have been treated better by the senators during the committee hearing on the contract with US-based lobby firm Venable LLP.
Gonzales, who signed the contract with Venable, said he had no knowledge about the identities of the private donors because they wanted to be anonymous. He said he was not in charge of finding the donors nor did he inquire about their identities.
He said the contract was to lobby for the release of the delayed grants and aid due the Philippines, particularly the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Defense related
He said the contract was basically defense and security related, but a provision was included in the contract about finding possible aid whether financial or through expertise in realizing President Arroyo's initiatives in reforming the political system in the country through Charter change and eradicating corruption.
The contract states that Venable will be paid US$750,000 for its 12-month service, excluding fees for senior officials of the firm and expenses on telephone calls and faxes, among others. The US firm was to be paid every three months.
Meanwhile, Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Tomas Alcantara denied reports that he or his agency had anything to do with the contracting of the services of Venable LLP. (JMR/Sunnex)
(September 26, 2005 issue)
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