Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Justice chief to Arroyo: Act on Cruz's resignation
MANILA -- Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. on Monday said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should immediately act on the resignation of Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr.
Gonzalez, in the weekly Kapihan ng Bayan forum at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City, said the Department of National Defense (DND) is a very important agency and it plays a crucial role in the campaign against terrorism and the country "cannot afford to have a chief in the DND to be in status like this right now."
"As of now, for all intents and purposes, Nonong Cruz is already a lame duck in the DND. While all his reforms, I suppose, will be followed by whoever will succeed him there, between now and November 30, he will not be effective anymore," he said.
He expressed confidence that the performance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would not be hampered or affected by the resignation of Cruz since the military establishment "would continue to obey the chain of command."
Gonzalez said like many others, he too is in the dark as to the reason behind Cruz's resignation. He said Cruz is a loss to the government as he is a "competent, bright and good management person" who is trying hard to advance the reform of the military through the AFP Modernization program.
He said he was not expecting Cruz to quit since he never gave any indications he had considered leaving the Cabinet when they last met during the security cluster meeting prior to the departure of Arroyo for China last week.
Gonzalez said there was no tension and everyone in the Cabinet cluster was in high spirits. He added that there was even cordiality and unanimity among the Cabinet.
"My feeling here is maybe his (Cruz) assessment was that he might have felt a little bit isolated in the Cabinet and he wanted to jump the gun on everybody, that's why he submitted an irrevocable resignation," Gonzalez said.
He said Cruz might have been uncomfortable with his having a contrasting view with the President, particularly on the people's initiative as a means to amend the Constitution. The administration has been pushing for Charter change and had rallied behind the people's initiative and Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) as means to realize it.
Gonzalez said the Cabinet men are the alter-ago of the President so "we all work for the President, we are all extensions of her personality, we are supposed to reflect her thoughts and of course when you cannot follow that policy or you disagree with that policy, that will be a very uncomfortable situation for you."
Presidential Management Staff secretary Cerge Remonde, in the same forum, said he admired Cruz for being a true professional when he decided to step down rather than keep quiet or do something sly.
Remonde, however, denied that infighting in the Cabinet led to Cruz's resignation.
"Number one, as a matter of policy, we do not want to comment on rumors because rumors should not be dignified. So we should not make a comment based on rumors. But on the question of unity in the Cabinet, I can assure you that as Secretary Gonzalez and I are hand-in-glove united here, so are the rest of the members of the Cabinet behind President Arroyo," he said.
Gonzalez said there were no "cracks" in the Cabinet despite some opposing views on certain issues. He added that it is only normal to express one's views before or even after the formal Cabinet meeting, where the President presides, when they are among themselves.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, for his part, said while there may be some debates and discussions, "there are no intense disagreements among the Cabinet members that may lead to a crack or division in the official family."
He added that Cruz, who made valuable contributions to defense reforms, would be missed and his "bold, sweeping initiatives would continue," especially now that the government has funds to implement all the reform programs.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said reports of infighting might have stemmed from some debates in the Cabinet during preparation and submission of reports regarding certain matters but he assured that the debates are usually resolved once the report had been made and handed to Arroyo.
Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor admitted to "some infighting" concerning opposing views on Charter change through a people's initiative but it had already been resolved even before Cruz submitted his irrevocable resignation.
Defensor, in an ambush interview, said the Cabinet had even reached an agreement that they would keep things quiet and resolve such debates among themselves.
"We agreed not only to keep things quiet and to stop people from fighting in the media and instead to debate and discuss within the Cabinet internally. We agreed about these parameters that we would argue within the Cabinet and that we will present our position," he said.
But he said Cruz over the weekend had eventually decided to quit because he does not like what's already happening in the Cabinet. He said Cruz reached the decision to quit despite his earlier assurance that there was no truth to reports that several Cabinet secretaries were ganging up on him.
Defensor said he does not know who those Cabinet men are and only Cruz could identify them. Earlier reports however floated the names of Gonzalez, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, and Presidential Adviser for political affairs Gabriel Claudio as those who may be involved in the debates with Cruz.
The reports circulated after the Supreme Court (SC) junked the people's initiative petition to reform the Charter. The decision was penned by SC Associate justice Antonio Carpio, Cruz' co-founder of the Villaraza, Angangco law office, formerly the Carpio, Villaraza, Cruz, Angangco law office, also known as "The Firm."
Gonzalez had denied he was one of the officials who plotted to ease out Cruz and he also rejected reports of an alleged rift among the President's men.
He said he heard reports attributed to Defensor saying that was one of the three secretaries who allegedly wanted Cruz out of the Cabinet in the light of his association with the Villaraza and Angangco law firm.
"Actually I have not exchanged impressions with Bert Gonzales, I haven't seen him for the last two months. So these are all speculations by people. Anybody saying that is rumor-mongering. I heard somebody say this morning that Mike Defensor said I was one of those, so Defensor is rumor-mongering," he said.
Gonzalez said officials of the Cabinet usually engage in debates to iron out differences in opinion on national policies, "but that doesn't mean that there are personal grievances among each other."
He said speculations that Cruz's resignation speaks of cracks within the Cabinet were being exaggerated.
He said there was no instance in the recent past where they had had confrontations with Cruz.
Gonzalez said while he had a disagreement with Cruz on the Charter change issue, he has never thought of having the secretary ousted from the Cabinet. "I never had that thing in mind. I can look at you straight in the eyes for that. As I said I have disagreement with him, when he kept on telling that we got only three votes in the SC. He was wrong because we got seven votes," the DOJ chief said.
He debunked speculations that First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo had something to do with Cruz's resignation.
Gonzalez said there were suggestions in the Cabinet for the President to hold the defense portfolio in a concurrent position, but he expressed reservations about it.
He noted that the late President Ferdinand Marcos also took on the defense post at one time while former President Joseph Estrada appointed himself as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) during his brief term.
Defensor said Arroyo, who was saddened by the resignation, has yet to act on the resignation of Cruz, who is also a confidant and even one of the lawyers of the President.
He said Arroyo and Cruz talked about the matter Sunday and no decision was reached on who would be the next defense secretary. He said Cruz had informed him that he had a "good talk" with the President wherein he explained his reasons for quitting.
Cruz submitted his irrevocable resignation letter to Arroyo in a meeting in Malacañang on Sunday but he would stay on until November 30.
Secretary Cruz's resignation came at the height of negotiations for a Status of Forces Agreement with Australia, Brunei, Malaysian and Indonesia, and Singapore, among others. Secretary Cruz has said he hopes to see the agreement signed before the year ends.
Defense Undersecretary Rodel Cruz said there was no rancor between the defense chief and the President.
He also said he was not aware of any recommendation by Secretary Cruz on the matter of his successor. There were earlier reports that the President may temporarily handle the defense portfolio.
A number of personalities are being floated to replace Cruz. Among them are National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, and Representative Prospero Pichay.
On whether another civilian should be heading the defense department, Undersecretary Cruz said: "The Feliciano commission report as well as the Davide Commission report recommended that a civilian head is required."
The Feliciano commission was the Malacañang-created body that looked into the short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003 while the Davide Commission looked into the circumstances of the failed coups in the late 1980s.
Armed Forces officials have withheld comment on the resignation of Cruz. "(I have) no comment. Let's wait for (the) official statement from the President," said Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon.
A number of military officers and senators, however, expressed regret over the decision of Cruz to resign.
Senators said Cruz was a big loss to the administration as they take into account the secretary's caliber and sterling track record as a legal luminary and a dedicated public servant. (JMR/VR/ECV/CPB/Sunnex)
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