Laquian: I never saw Estrada drunk

A deeply contrite Aprodicio Laquian begged President Estrada for forgiveness yesterday and cla-rified that he never saw the Chief Executive drunk or drinking with his so-called "midnight Cabinet."

Laquian, who admitted he had been a braggart and a blabbermouth, asked for a final meeting with the President so he could "say goodbye properly." There was no immediate response from the President.

The ousted presidential chief of staff, who plans to return to Canada after his 41-day stint in the Cabinet, sent the President a one-page letter of apology - handcarried by the President's brother Jessie Ejercito - promising to henceforth shut up after issuing his final five-page statement that was made public by Malacañang yesterday.

In the statement, titled "I shot myself in the mouth," Laquian noted that since the President "has pardoned even hardened criminals from lethal injection in the past, I hope he will forgive a person who sincerely wanted to help him and his administration but failed because of his own personal shortcomings."

Until Wednesday night, the President was still fuming, disclosing in a television interview that Laquian was henpecked or ander di saya and wanted to be home by 7 p.m., thus making it impossible for him to be with the Chief Executive until 4 a.m.

Mr. Estrada fired Laquian Tuesday night hours after the latter joked before a media forum that presidential policies were crafted in late-night drinking binges with the "midnight Cabinet."

Laquian acknowledged to The STAR yesterday that "madaldal ako, mayabang ako (I was a blabbermouth, I was a braggart). But I was not malicious, I was not vicious."

In his statement, Laquian said: "For the sake of the whole truth and nothing but, I can honestly swear that I have never seen President Estrada drunk... I have also never witnessed any 'midnight Cabinet drinking.' "

Laquian reiterated that his earlier remarks about Mr. Estrada and his friends drinking until four in the morning were "pure hyperbole and had no basis in fact."

"It was my over-active mind, fired by intellectual hubris and goaded by the mischievous press that made me say those things," he added. "President Estrada was right in letting me go."

Laquian, who gave up his naturalized Canadian citizenship to become the chief of staff, celebrated his 65th birthday yesterday.

"My firing... is a sad way to celebrate the end of one's career," he said. "My friends know that I am a patriot at heart. I sincerely believed when I arrived here at the invitation of the President that it is payback time for a former squatter boy from Tramo to try and do something for the poor in this country."

Laquian's comments brought into focus persistent criticisms that the President continues to be a heavy drinker and that he favors "cronies" and sets government policy with a nocturnal circle of close drinking buddies rather than the Cabinet.

Mr. Estrada said he has given up hard drinks since being elected in 1998 and only takes occasional sips of red wine.

In his letter to the President, Laquian wrote, "I sincerely apologize for this indiscretion and seek your forgiveness. You were right in getting angry and being disappointed at what I did."

"What a way to spend the end of your career!" Laquian told The STAR yesterday. "But this is not the end of my life."

In a related development, Sen. Raul Roco said Laquian was "a disaster waiting to happen."

The senator said the former Canadian citizen did not seem to appreciate Filipino culture.

"When you work with a guy, be loyal to him. If you want to attack the person, then leave the organization and then you attack to your heart's content," Roco said.

At the House of Representatives, an opposition congressman expressed regret that Laquian "has to pack his bags and leave behind a chance to put order to an office that zigzags, like a drunk, from one controversy to another."

"Laquian did not categorically state that Palace meetings are like Alcoholics Anonymous gatherings," Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas, Bukidnon) said in a statement.

"He only tried to convey the folksy image that Palace denizens, like the rest of Filipinos, know how to unwind after office hours," he said. "In fact, the former chief of staff's story did not in any way paint Malacañang as a bar after sundown."

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), meanwhile, said Laquian should stand by his statement, just like what Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Perfecto Yasay Jr. did.

"Laquian should not be so apologetic for 'betraying' the President because such a betrayal was a service to the people. It's pathetic that Laquian let himself be berated and humiliated when he was merely making statements of facts," said KMU chairman Crispin Beltran.

He added that the people's worst fears have been confirmed, that the highest office in the land is being run by an "inebriated" man and that what the public is experiencing every day are the results of his drinking sessions.

"It's outrageous that it's the rest of the country and the people who have to suffer the hangover," he said. -- With Perseus Echeminada, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AFP