Roco quits GMA Cabinet

An angry Education Secretary Raul Roco hastily resigned "irrevocably" yesterday following what he described as President Arroyo’s humiliating order to investigate allegations of graft against him.

The resignation sparked a political tempest similar to the one stirred up by the departure of Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. as foreign affairs secretary on July 3.

Malacañang scrambled for damage control, with Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye announcing that the President had not accepted the resignation. Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo wanted to meet with Roco today; last night Roco indicated he was ready for such a meeting.

The popular and respected Roco, widely seen as Mrs. Arroyo’s most powerful rival in the 2004 elections despite his lack of a well-funded political machinery, said he was piqued by the President’s lack of basic "courtesy" in informing him that she had ordered the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to probe a graft complaint filed against him by the Department of Education (DepEd) employees’ union.

Both the President’s political allies and foes rallied behind Roco by declaring that her political base would be eroded if she were perceived to be decimating potential rivals by easing them out of their political posts in a shabby manner.

In his resignation letter, Roco said he was surprised to hear PAGC chief Dario Rama announcing over radio and television that he was being investigated upon presidential instructions given Aug. 1. Copies of the resignation letter were distributed to media yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo’s go-signal for the investigation came in the form of a marginal note dated Aug. 1 on the letter sent to her by the DepEd Central Office Employees Union, which was subsequently forwarded to PAGC chief Rama.

Roco’s ouster was sought as early as April 2001 by the DepEd union for his order to stop the collection of service fees from public school teachers. The fees were paid to DepEd employees who were preparing the teachers’ payroll.

Roco, defending his order, said that while the collection of the service fees from teachers was mandated by the General Appropriations Act, it was "immoral" because the employees’ pay was already covered by their ordinary salary, and the preparation of the payroll was part of their job.

On Aug. 1, the private firm Ibon Foundation bared survey results showing that Roco would trounce the President if a presidential election was held during the conduct of the survey in July. The survey showed deposed President Joseph Estrada even ahead of Mrs. Arroyo in the supposed presidential "derby."

The DepEd "baseless charges (were) ignored" even by Mrs. Arroyo for "more than a year now," Roco’s resignation letter said.

"It would have been so simple for Your Excellency or the Executive Secretary (Alberto Romulo) to ask me to explain as member of your official family...Such courtesy was not extended. I take it as an expression of loss of confidence. As a point of honor then, I am constrained to resign from your Cabinet," the letter said.

Roco’s letter further said, "There is no place in a democracy for humiliating people as a policy instrument." He was obviously referring to Mrs. Arroyo’s rough treatment of Guingona who was seen as pressured to resign from his post as foreign affairs secretary because of policy differences, especially the presence of US troops in the country.

However, an interesting but cryptic paragraph was also contained in the resignation. "In closing, let me say thank you for the opportunity of serving the Filipino people. I pray they will bless me again someday." It was perceived as Roco’s subtle way of declaring his aspirations for higher political office, although he did not specify the presidency, in 2004.

Roco, a former senator, finished third in the 1998 presidential election behind then Vice President Joseph Estrada and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., a fairly strong showing since he had no effective party machinery.

A lawyer, he won wide praise and popularity in the nationally televised Senate impeachment proceedings against Estrada on corruption charges.

Roco aligned his small Aksyon Demokratiko party with Arroyo’s Lakas-NUCD coalition and joined Arroyo’s Cabinet in January 2001 after Estrada was ousted in the military-backed people power II revolution.

In an interview with Channel 2 television station, Roco said he did not know of investigations being conducted on Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit. The statement was in response to a Malacañang announcement that the investigations were "ministerial" and that Roco was not being singled out.

Roco said he was particularly irked by Rama’s successive declarations over broadcast media that he was being investigated for alleged graft charges.

He said on Monday morning, he heard Rama saying he was being probed for seven charges of graft, and then yesterday morning, he again heard Rama announcing that he was probing him on 20 charges of graft.

Even Romulo said he "did not know" about the investigation on alleged graft charges against him, Roco said.

At a press conference in a Manila hotel, Roco said during the July 30 Cabinet meeting, he was never informed by the President that he was being investigated despite the fact that they "chatted for a while."

Among the complaints of the DepEd Union were Roco’s alleged "dictatorial management style," misuse of public funds, hiring of highly paid consultants and unreasonable suspension of employees and officials.

The union also claimed that Roco unnecessarily rented a helicopter for P200,000 last year when he visited several public schools in northern Philippines.

DepEd union president Domingo Alidon said Roco had ordered the printing of 350,000 posters costing P2 million as part of the department’s information campaign. "But the posters are obviously intended to boost his presidential bid in 2004 as they also had his picture," he said.

Malacañang seeking out Roco

In what could be a desperate bid to save face, Mrs. Arroyo is expected to meet Roco today to convince him to change his mind on his "irrevocable" resignation submitted to Romulo. Roco did not attend yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

Bunye said the President will meet with Roco "at the earliest possible time where it is hoped that matters would be threshed out."

Reading a prepared statement yesterday, Bunye said the President and Roco’s fellow members in the Cabinet "recognize his dedication and exemplary service."

"It is indeed unfortunate that the ministerial act of referring charges filed against Secretary Roco by the Department of Education employees union to the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission has been blown out of proportion as to create the false impression that Secretary Roco is being eased out," he said.

"This impression has no basis in truth and in fact. The charges against Secretary Roco had to be referred as a matter of routine to the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission in the same manner that charges against Secretary Hernando Perez and Secretary Manuel Dayrit were earlier referred to the PAGC," he said.

Bunye however dodged further questions by Palace reporters.

Meanwhile, former President Fidel Ramos said Roco would be a "powerful alternative" candidate in the 2004 elections, but expressed hopes that the President and Roco would be able to find "accommodation and reconciliation."

Rep. Wilfrido Villarama (Aksyon Demokratiko, Bulacan) said the President has just lost "a good man and very competent Cabinet member" in Roco’s resignation.

"The resignation of Secretary Roco is another successful hatchet job by shadowy characters around the President," said Villarama, a former chief of staff of Mrs. Arroyo.

House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla said the President and her political strategists are gradually getting rid of or destroying those they perceive to be threats to her plan to seek the presidency in the next elections.

"Before the (Ibon) survey, the charges against him were ignored. Suddenly, Mrs. Arroyo acted on them," he said.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon (LDP, Muntinlupa) said Roco’s resignation was part of a "political cleansing process" that Mrs. Arroyo was carrying out.

"First, it was Vice President and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teofisto Guingona Jr. Now it’s Secretary Roco. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez could be next," he said.

Rep. Prospero Nograles (Lakas, Davao City) said Roco "will be a big loss to the Cabinet."

"I hope he did not resign to run for president against" Mrs. Arroyo, he said.

Rep. Edmundo Reyes Jr. (Lakas, Marinduque), chairman of the House basic education committee, said the President did not commit impropriety when she did not inform Roco of her order that he be investigated. "It’s a matter of management style."

"I am confident that when the investigation is finished, he would be cleared of the charges," he said.

Angara: A repeat of Guingona case

At the Senate, Sen. Edgardo Angara said Roco’s resignation was "a repeat" of Guingona’s departure, while at the same time declaring that the opposition camp "will welcome the likes of Roco."

"Politics is about reasoning and open debate, with several ideas in contention. But apparently, Mrs. Arroyo listens to only one voice — her voice," Angara said.

Angara said Mrs. Arroyo’s low approval rating would suffer in the face of the Roco resignation.

Sen. Noli de Castro said Roco’s resignation following a presidential order to investigate him "only manifests his sense of propriety" because an investigation while he holds the post could put him in an awkward position.

"Let the justice system work," De Castro said.

Anakbayan national chairperson Apolinario Alvarez said Roco’s resignation "mirrors how dirty a political player" President Arroyo was. "Roco’s is a demolition job against the biggest threat to President Arroyo’s 2004 presidential bid," he said.

"If Roco knows how to maneuver and project himself as a knight in shining armor who has been unfairly wounded, then he can rally a lot of people around him, people who are looking for an alternative to Arroyo," said The STAR columnist Teodoro Benigno.

"This will have a big impact on her (Arroyo) because she will be perceived as getting rid of those above her in the ratings," said Antonio Gatmaitan, president of the Political Economy Applied Research Foundation.

"Her card is the incumbency and that’s plenty. (But) it’s not going to be an easy time for her. Roco has a lot of admirers in the business community. He is definitely an alternative." - With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Jess Diaz