October 12, 2000, The Philippine Star, MacacGam A Caoito-Arroyo Quits Cabinet Post, by Liberty Dones,

And after she informed the President of her decision through a telephone call from Turkey at about 12 noon yesterday, Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez bolted the ruling Lapian ng Masang Pilipino (LAMP) party.

According to Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr., Mr. Estrada "understands that (Arroyo) may be under certain pressures in acting the way she did."

The President appointed Dulce Saguisag, wife of former Sen. Rene Saguisag, as Arroyo’s replacement in the Cabinet. The 57-year-old Mrs. Saguisag, who holds a master’s degree in social work from the Boston College School of Social Work, will take her oath on Monday. She is a former executive vice president of Mondra-gon Philippines, a tourism and leisure concern.

Palace officials, on the other hand, were not surprised by the resignations, saying they have long been expecting such defections.

Meanwhile, Cabinet secretaries expressed their continued support for Mr. Estrada when they attended the 26th Philippine Business Conference at the Manila Hotel, where the Chief Executive was the special guest speaker.

"As you see, we’re all here behind Mr. Estrada," said Finance Secretary Jose Pardo.

But four of the President’s men were missing in that affair. They were Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara, Environment Secretary Antonio Cerilles and Science and Technology Secretary Felimon Uriarte.

Angara is reportedly attending a conference in Canada, while Mercado was at Malacañang with Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, discussing political party matters.

Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said there will be no "loyalty checks" among the President’s men to see if they still support the Chief Executive.

"I don’t think the President is insecure to conduct a loyalty check," he said.

Still, the opposition Lakas-NUCD party called on all Cabinet members to follow Arroyo.

"We believe that any Cabinet official who, after discernment and consultation arrives at the conclusion that his or her stay in office has become untenable, should also do the same," said House Minority Leader Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Arroyo, who is traveling in Europe, said in a statement that she had been "consulting with the people" ever since Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson accused Mr. Estrada of taking more than P400 million in bribes from gambling lords.

"Much as I appreciate the chances that the President gave me to serve the poor through the Cabinet position to which he appointed me, I regret that I can no longer continue to serve as a member of the present Cabinet," the statement said.

Arroyo said she was winding up her an official visit to Turkey and would travel to Rome for a previously scheduled audience with Pope John Paul II. She is expected to return this weekend.

"I intend to return immediately. In the meantime, however, I must make my views regarding these events known," she said.

A source said Arroyo consulted with former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos as well as Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin before she resigned.

"She was assured of their support," the source said.

Arroyo’s resignation is likely to further weaken the credibility of the Estrada administration.

"This is an indication she is going to be in opposition to the administration," said DBP-Daiwa Securities analyst Mike Gotera. "She’s influential and if she adds her voice against the administration, this could spell more trouble for the presidency."

Financial markets reeled yesterday from the scandal as share prices closed .5 percent lower, while the peso slid to a new all-time low of P47.70 to the dollar despite a decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to sell dollars in the market.

Singson claimed in a Senate hearing on Wednesday that he personally oversaw more than P400 million in illegal gambling payoffs to Mr. Estrada over a 21-month period.

Singson, pressed to produce evidence, presented lists of payments he said he made to the President, two of Mr. Estrada’s sons and other government officials.

"I am the witness, I am the evidence," Singson told senators.

During the same hearing, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose brother was recently appointed Air Force chief by President Estrada, grilled Lubao Mayor Lilia Pineda – the husband of alleged gambling lord Rodolfo Pineda – on the couple’s relationship with Arroyo.

Justifying her stance, the senator noted that "when the President is impeached, the Vice President will assume the post."

The mayor appeared evasive in her response, provoking Santiago to quip sarcastically: "I am puzzled why you, the mayor of Lubao, do not know anything in Lubao, about anything regarding your husband."

The senator also replied to a call by Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin for Mr. Estrada to resign.
"If the cardinal is asking President Estrada to resign, will he also ask the Vice President, who is a friend of a jueteng lord, to resign?" she asked.

In a related development, Mr. Estrada said he remains unfazed by Arroyo’s resignation.
For their part, Zamora said they are not a bit "shocked" with Arroyo’s decision to leave the Cabinet, while Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Angelito Banayo said the Vice President's move was "simply a political decision."

"We knew the time of reckoning for her must come before the May 2001 elections," Banayo said. "Although it is too early … the political season is here already." Golez, Magsaysay abandon LAMPS  en. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. said his resignation stemmed from delicadeza.

"Delicadeza prevents me from staying in a party where partisanship is seemingly more important than the interest of the people," Magsaysay said his letter of resignation to Mr. Estrada.

He said that his resignation from the coalition would help him see things more clearly and more objectively "in the light of present developments."

He also expressed the hope that the President would always be enlightened to do the right thing, and to keep an open mind and listen to the voice of the people.

At a press conference, he expressed his unease and discomfort over the raising of "legal maneuvers" and asking of "petty questions" during the hearing of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

"Some of my colleagues were even berating a governor whom we had invited," Magsaysay said, without identifying the senators concerned.

He said he had a friendly talk with Senate President Franklin Drilon about his resignation from LAMP.
"He wished me luck," Magsaysay said.

He added that he might lose some of his committees.

"That is a possible consequence but these are necessary losses," he said, while stressing that public servants should be ready to lose some personal privilege for the public good.

He admitted that his resignation from LAMP was also influenced by the call of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin for the President’s resignation.

"There must be a very strong reason for the Cardinal to make such a very strong call," Magsaysay said.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Francisco Tatad revealed that Magsaysay had asked Sen. Robert Jaworski to join him in resigning from LAMP.

Magsaysay admitted talking with Jaworski but denied that it was about resigning from LAMP.
"Senator Jaworski is a man of few words, just like me. We are both action-oriented. I merely invited him to walk," Magsaysay said.

For his part, Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said he quit LAMP because he felt he was getting "bad treatment" from his colleagues, especially during a recent public hearing.

Golez, chairman of the House committee on public order and security, held a public inquiry where he invited Singson to present evidence on the jueteng scandal.

But some congressmen questioned the jurisdiction of his committee in conducting such a hearing.

"I resent their incessant manifestation on jurisdiction in spite of the fact that since time immemorial, this committee already had jurisdiction on illegal gambling," he said.

He cited that in that hearing, the rules committee members led by Majority Leader Eduardo Gullas (Cebu), Senior Deputy Leader Bella Angara-Castillo (Aurora), Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong), and Assistant Majority Leader Constantino Jaraula (Cagayan de Oro) dominated the discussions after Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen’s "pesky intervention"

He said these congressmen "obviously swung the proceeding according to their apparent game plan which was to gag Singson."

He noted that the act of these lawmakers sets a dangerous precedent "because they can abuse their power to vote in committees by being there in full force."

Another reason why he resigned was because the President had already lost the "moral ascendancy" to lead the ruling party.

Golez said Singson’'s charges have remained unanswered by the Chief Executive.

"The allegations are very serious and affect the very moral foundations of the presidency. Accepting bribes is terrible. Accepting jueteng money by the millions allegedly overseen by the President himself is betrayal of public trust of the highest order," he said.

Observers said the resignations of the two lawmakers could erode crucial presidential support in Congress.
Arroyo's partymates in the opposition Lakas-NUCD party are scheduled to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr. Estrada today over allegations of a jueteng bribe.

Seventy-five members of the 225-seat House of Representatives are needed to initiate an impeachment trial.
According to LAMP sources, Magsaysay and Golez actually have personal reasons for leaving the ruling party.

Magsaysay, they said, has been expecting to be appointed secretary of the Department of National Defense. But his hopes were dashed when Mercado declared that he is not leaving his post to run for any elective position.

The sources also said that Golez had his eyes on a Senate slot in LAMP. But the party has such a "deep bench" of highly qualified senatorial candidates that he does not stand a chance of landing a spot in the ticket.
"These two politicians are guilty of political opportunism. Soon, the people will see them for what they really are," a source said. – (With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Perseus Echeminada, Efren Danao, Sheila Crisostomo, Aurea Calica, Ding Cervantes AFP, AP)