Resignation of nat’l security adviser accepted

President Arroyo accepted yesterday the resignation of National Security Adviser Roilo Golez who will seek reelection as congressman of Parañaque City, running against outgoing Mayor Joey Marquez.

Golez told The STAR he had a lengthy talk with the President where they agreed that he will run under Mrs. Arroyo’s original political party Kampi.

Mrs. Arroyo ran as vice presidential candidate under Kampi where she was the running mate of Lakas presidential candidate Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. in the 1998 elections.

Marquez, on the other hand, may have to run again as independent outside the ruling party Lakas.

"Because all the Lakas candidates from mayor to vice mayor to councilors will not support him (Marquez)," Golez declared.

Marquez, who is in his third and last term as Parañaque mayor, won his first term as an independent. He later rejoined Lakas but had a falling out with the party recently following the controversy over his breakup with his girlfriend, actress and TV host Kris Aquino.

Golez said he would resign on Monday, Jan. 5, and proceed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Parañaque City to file his certificate of candidacy.

Golez said Mrs. Arroyo will make a formal announcement on Monday to name the new national security adviser.

During their meeting, Golez said the President "reminisced" their experiences in "working together during the crisis periods."

"We talked about her campaign strategy and discussed some of my thoughts. After which we focused on the various crises she faced in her presidency where I served as her crisis manager, particularly the May 1, 2001 mob attack on Malacañang; the Iraq crisis and the Oakwood-Magdalo coup (on July 27)," Golez said.

Golez narrated his experiences as Parañaque congressman while Mrs. Arroyo was at the Senate during the 10th Congress.

"Then when she appointed me national security adviser in February 2001 as her personal choice, she (Mrs. Arroyo) reminded me: ‘you had no padrino when I selected you’," Golez said.

"It’s a self-fulfilling experience for me so it’s a little sad," he told The STAR.