DOJ chief to step down for local bid in 2010?

MANILA, Philippines – Is Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez stepping down on June 15?

Gonzalez would only say yesterday that he would quit to seek an elective post in 2010. He did not say when he would step down.

A source said Gonzalez is quitting and that the outcome of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s probe on the death of the wife of broadcaster Ted Failon had something to do with the secretary’s decision.

“Resignation is inevitable for me because I will be joining the election next year. I will have to resign by November and it will have nothing to do with that case,” Gonzalez pointed out yesterday.

The June 15 date is months before the mandatory resignation for officials seeking elective posts in 2010.

Gonzalez is reportedly planning to run for mayor in his hometown in Iloilo.

The source said Gonzalez had supposedly been pressured by powerful individuals to order the NBI to make it appear that Failon killed his wife Trina Etong. But he opted to stand by NBI findings that Etong committed suicide.

“I don’t want to talk about it at this point, but that (resignation next month) is an alternative,” he told The STAR over the phone.

The septuagenarian DOJ chief noted that he has supported the NBI “all throughout.”

He revealed that if ever he would file early resignation, it would be because of his second son, Jose Mari.

“He is sick. And I want to bring him to Lourdes in France and pray for a miracle there,” Gonzalez said.

Earlier, Gonzalez announced that he was eyeing a local elective post in his hometown in Iloilo under the administration party.

“President Arroyo’s term will end in 2010 and I can’t expect the next administration to appoint me so I will probably just serve my people there in Iloilo,” he told reporters.

Gonzalez said elections would push through next year, and this has led him to consider running for mayor in Iloilo City.

“In my case, I can go back to law practice since I’ve been practicing law even before I was appointed Justice Secretary or I could run,” he said.

“The best option for me is to run for mayor. I would like to spend my remaining time in government in my own home,” he explained.

He said he might also consider running for Congress but only if his son, Raul Jr., who currently holds this post, would yield to him. – Edu Punay