Golez joins calls for Arroyo resignation

A former member of President Arroyo’s Cabinet joined the growing clamor for her resignation yesterday in the wake of her admission that she talked to an election official during last year’s congressional canvass of votes for president and vice president.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, who served as the President’s national security adviser for three years up to last year, said Mrs. Arroyo, in her television address to the nation on Monday night, "did not answer the accusation of electoral fraud in conspiracy with a Comelec (Commission on Elections) commissioner."

"The President is now in an untenable position that she cannot anymore lead and govern. Her image and the country’s image are in pathetic state of the eyes of the international community. She has lost her moral authority, a crucial component in national leadership. Resignation for the sake of the country is the only honorable option for the President," he said.

He added that if Mrs. Arroyo chooses to hold on to power, it would be her allies in both the Senate and the House of Representatives who would prop her up by shielding her from ouster through the impeachment process.

Golez chairs the House defense committee, one of five panels conducting the "Gloriagate" tapes inquiry. He is the first ex-Arroyo Cabinet member to call for the resignation of his erstwhile Palace boss.

In the face of mounting calls for the President’s resignation, the majority coalition in the House expressed its full support for Mrs. Arroyo.

In a statement, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and several colleagues said "our full trust, confidence and support remain with our President who we helped to attain a clear and clean victory in the 2004 polls."

"We agree with her assessment that all must redouble their efforts to shake off the ill effects of soaring world oil prices, invest more government resources in the people, and speed up and broaden the program for cleaner and better governance," they said.

De Venecia is still abroad. He is now on the third week of his European trip.

For his part, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraula, a member of the majority bloc, said while Mrs. Arroyo’s admission of a "lapse in judgment" was "admirable, it opened a lot of questions that can lead to moral and legal consequences, which she must eventually face."

He said he wished the Chief Executive would have revealed more in her address so that some of those questions would have been answered.

He said at the very least, the President’s admission of a lapse in judgment did not conform with ethical standards for public officials.

Asked whether he believed that Mrs. Arroyo would be able to finish her six-year term, Jaraula responded, "I hope so, but there’s no guarantee."

"Things are developing very fast now. The issue of the tapes came to a head in about a month or so, unlike during Erap (ousted President Joseph Estrada) when there was a gap of several months between the ‘I accuse’ privilege speech of (former senator Teofisto) Tito Guingona and Erap’s impeachment," he said.

Other allies of Mrs. Arroyo heaped praises on her, saying her admission of an error should strengthen her hold on power.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino said the President’s "courageous and humble" act of seeking forgiveness for her mistake should prompt Filipinos to move on and work together to solve the nation’s problems.

"It’s time we put an end to this political episode and refocus our time and effort on more urgent concerns. We need to sustain the economic gains that we have achieved so far and work harder to insulate the economy from external shocks," he said.

Antonino belongs to the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party founded by Mrs. Arroyo in 1997 when she was still a senator.

Another Arroyo ally, Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan, said the opposition "should wake up (to) the reality that for all her faults, the people want GMA to stay and not go away."

Bukidnon’s Juan Miguel Zubiri said the President’s choice of a "wrong phone pal" should not be a ground to impeach her.

Her admission that she talked to an election official "is a tool for reconciliation, not impeachment," he said.

Pasay City’s Eduardo Zialcita said Mrs. Arroyo did the right thing in breaking her silence on the tapes scandal and in urging the people to support her in tackling the problems the nation faces.

Tarlac’s Jesli Lapus echoed a similar assessment. "It was a no-win situation, but the President did the right thing. The truth has cleared the air and put everything in proper order," he said.

Another Arroyo ally, Lorna Silverio of Bulacan, said the President showed "courage and statesmanship" in admitting her error in judgment by calling an election official at the height of the congressional canvass of votes for president and vice president in June last year.

Administration critics joined Golez in urging the President to resign.

Rep. Joel Villanueva of the party-list group Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption said by talking to an election official who is obviously former commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about election fraud, Mrs. Arroyo has lost her moral ascendancy and legitimacy to govern the nation.

Rep. Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis said the President no longer possesses the "moral and political authority to lead this country."

On the other hand, Rep. Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao said the Chief Executive failed to make a full disclosure of her conversations with the unnamed election official.

"Such failure amounts to betrayal of the public trust and she should be stripped of the highest office," he said.

For her part, Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales of Akbayan said the President skirted the more critical issue of election fraud.

She said Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to gloss over the more important issue should prompt lawmakers to play the "Gloriagate" tapes so that more people could hear them and make an evaluation of their contents.