Guingona declares he’s staying on as Foreign Affairs Secretary

First, it was announced by Malacañang that the President had literally "sacked" Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. as her Secretary of Foreign Affairs over "honest differences" of opinion as well as on policy issues.

Then Press Secretary Silvestre "Yoyong" Afable (whose detractors sometimes refer to as Yo-yo Afable) tried to convey the idea that it was actually Guingona’s own idea that he depart from the DFA. (It was even insinuated in the Palace corridors, Alikabok tells me, that Tito Guingona had even submitted the draft of his own letter of resignation.)

Sanamagan. When the news came out, the Veep told DFA reporters that he had not resigned and had no intention of resigning his concurrent post as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Afterwards, he went to Malacañang and was closeted, at this writing last night, with President GMA. From the Palace, he was scheduled to rush to the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) dinner in his honor at the Manila Hotel – at which this writer, as a past president of the MOPC, was supposed to be.

Tito Guingona rang me up on my cellphone last night as soon as he emerged from the meeting with the President. He asserted: "Max, I’m definitely not resigning, and I will remain Foreign Affairs Secretary."

He was informed, in that closed-door meeting with President GMA that the announcement had been a "mistake". Press Secretary Afable and Presidential Chief Legal Counsel, Avelino "Nonong" Cruz – who were present at that meeting – were tasked to make the appropriate clarification to the Malacañang Press Corps. (Since I had to rush to the MOPC affair at that juncture, today’s front page will tell you what they finally stated... or stammered.)

Salamabit. Will Afable take the rap? (He did, my reporter Marichu Villanueva urgently phoned me.)

Remember when GMA let it be known that, contrary to what Afable had stated, a Cabinet revamp was going on? That was virtually a rebuke to poor Yo-yo. Yet, afterwards, La Presidenta inferred that the Cabinet revamp wouldn’t take place, after all, since the present Cabineteers had justified their staying in the Cabinet.

In the wake of last night’s volte-face, what happens to the rumor, strongly-hinted at in the Palace that the DFA portfolio would be given to the Kulog ng Hagonoy, ancient Senator Ka Blas Ople, so that the Senate Presidency and committee chairmanships crisis could be resolved in the Administration’s favor? Goodbye to that idea.

The story-line now is that Afable spotted the "letter" concerning Guingona on the President’s desk and released it without clearance. Ha, ha. How can that be possible? Politics, though, is the "art of the possible". What about Nonong Cruz? Can he pose as blameless? C’mon.

If the world weren’t concerned with more dangerous and horrifying issues – like the WorldCom $3.8 billion fraud, which has just devastated the US stock market and the world’s financial bourses, sent the dollar further plunging, severely damaged trust in Corporate America, the war between Israel and the Palestinians, and the turbulent G-8 summit near Calgary, Canada, etc. — everybody would be laughing at us.

However, in the light of this terrible new threat to the global economy and the prospect of a stockmarket "crash" in America, and, let’s not forget, the football World Cup championship collision in Yokohama (Japan) this Sunday with mighty Brazil and Germany contending for supremacy in a final clash of the titans, we’re lucky. Who bothers or worries on this troubled planet about our follies, foibles, and petty squabbles in our local version of Lilliput, island-style?

As for myself, I worry. The Filipino people worry. No wonder there’s a stampede for the "Exit".

Before I forget, let’s stop insisting that the rat Abu Sabaya is dead. If that scruffy Abu Sayyaf rascal is dead, he’s dead. If he’s not, then he’ll surface sometime, somewhere, with maximum intent to embarrass our government and armed forces. Or perhaps we’ll get the shark that "ate" him to confess that he did it.

My suggestion is that our troops go after the Abu Sayyaf kidnapper-killers who’re still alive and send them, by express mail, to Allah. There may or may not be one Abu less, but there are still scores to contend with. Go get them!

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Now there’s the case of the seven top Philippine National Police (PNP) whom Interior Secretary Joey Lina and the National Police Commission relieved of their commands allegedly for failure to curb jueteng in their jurisdiction.

To begin with, what a lame excuse. There’s jueteng almost everywhere. Why not relieve all the PNP generals and other senior police officers where the illegal numbers game, including masiao, "Last Two", and other similar rackets continue to flourish? I’m for that. Most people, I’m sure, are for booting the whole lot.

My fearless forecast is that it won’t happen. Even now, as I write, the seven supposed to have been cashiered or frozen, whatever the alleged punishment, are meeting in the home of PNP Director General (isn’t that still General Larry Mendoza, who’s not assuming his new post at the DOTC till next week?) Why in the PNP Director-General’s home, not his office? I guess it will be a game of musical chairs, after all, not a real go-for-broke revamp or disciplinary action.

I was surprised, of course, to see PNP Deputy Director Edgar Aglipay on the list of seven.

In my book, Egay Aglipay has always been a straight-shooter, a notch above the rest.

As for Secretary Lina and the members of the NAPOLCOM, will they have the guts to resign in protest if they are repudiated by what happens later? Certainly, Joey Lina went out on a limb by categorically announcing that the "seven" had been relieved. He must make it stick – or else, he’ll have to quit to express his disgust at not being upheld by the final authority upstairs. In this country, alas, the public has begun to view such goings-on as a silly zarzuela.

Take Chief Superintendent (General) Avelino Razon of Region 7, who angrily told the press he would "resign" because of the humiliation of having his name being smeared all over the media. The seven mentioned protested they had been denied "due process". Lina retorted that they had been given notice. Yesterday afternoon, I heard General Razon saying on ANC-ABS-CBN that he meant he would be resigning from his Region 7 post, not from the police force. He averred that he had not even received his "orders", nor been officially notified of any transfer.

Now, what’s this? It’s not even news anymore that officials are being "fired" through the media.

If you ask me, many of our PNP generals should have been given the heave-ho long ago. For instance, when "Pentagon Gang" chief Faisal Marohombsar and two of his confederates "escaped" from their top security cells inside Camp Crame, the entire Crame command should not only have been "sacked" (to use the popular expression) right then and there – but arrested. They’re still punishing rodents in the PNP and the military with push-ups, as they did during the time ex-President Fidel V. Ramos was still a general. We ought to resurrect the concept of the firing squad or "death by musketry", not death by press release.

Why fire generals just for jueteng? Why not for rampant kidnapping? (A general is suspected of being the brains behind some of them, like the abduction of heiress Charmaine Ong, who subsequently "escaped". After ransom was paid? This is an "escapist" country!) Why not for the Ruben Ecleo, Jr. case? Now they’re even giving Ecleo his own private cell in prison! Why not room service and air-conditioning, too. Things are different, it seems, when you’re a Divine Master.

Let’s get our act together in this country. And I mean now.