If he would have his way, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory Domingo would rather “lie low” and just quietly fade away until his resignation takes effect by year-end. But the demands of his job make him a high-profile Cabinet official.
Domingo thus reluctantly accepted our invitation to him to guest in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay at the Luneta Hotel last Wednesday. He told me he has been intentionally “avoiding media events.” The outgoing DTI Secretary was moved to accept our invite when I invoked the need to inform the public about government preparations for our country’s hosting the 27th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ summit.
Breaking his silence for the first time on his unexpected exit from the Aquino Cabinet, Domingo revealed he actually tendered his resignation not once but thrice. It was only on his third attempt last September that President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III finally let him go.
Domingo swears there is nothing controversial on his reason to resign from the Cabinet because he just wanted to go back to the private sector. He believes he has done enough public service in his lifetime. Before he became DTI Secretary, Domingo first served at the Board of Investments, an attached agency of this department from 2001 to 2006.
Having served in public office in the past, Domingo cited he knows very well he is bound by the law that prevents him from being employed for at least one year in any company that he dealt with while he was still in government.
He then worked subsequently as managing director and treasurer of Chase Manhattan Bank in Manila. He was the executive director of SM Investments Corp. when he was recruited to be the first DTI chief of President Aquino in July, 2010.
It was his bosom buddy, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who recommended the Wharton-educated technocrat to become DTI secretary.
Halfway through the Aquino administration, he said, he first tendered his resignation to President Aquino. This was sometime before the mid-term elections in May, 2013. He timed his resignation, he said, to coincide with other government officials who were resigning because they were going to run for public office.
“I was looking for a quiet time (to resign),” he pointed out. By quiet time, he explained, there is no crisis situation or controversial issues.
When he first gave his resignation letter, he said, President Aquino asked him to rethink his decision, citing there were a lot of his administration programs he would like the DTI Secretary to do for the country.
But before he could go back to the President to remind him about his resignation letter, Domingo recalled, super typhoon “Yolanda” hit the country on November 8 and wrought severe devastation, especially in Eastern Visayas provinces.
As livelihood and basic services from the DTI were gradually downloaded to the Yolanda-stricken areas, Domingo said, he went back to President Aquino towards the end of 2014. Again, he said, the President reiterated his desire for him to stay on at the DTI, or at least postpone it until early next year.
But when the Mamasapano incident took place in January this year, Domingo said, he decided to postpone his resignation. This was no “quiet time” to leave the Cabinet, he pointed out. So when things got settled down later, Domingo deemed it as the quiet time again to renew his resignation bid.
During the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board meeting at Malacañang first week of September, he said, President Aquino finally relented and announced to the Cabinet his long-standing offer of resignation.
At the end of the long table of the NEDA Board meeting – he recalled with amusement – the Finance Secretary stood up to tell the President he must not allow Domingo to resign because of the forthcoming APEC Leaders’ Summit.
Thus, the President prevailed upon Domingo to stay on, at least until after the country’s hosting of the APEC Leaders’ summit in Manila on November 18-20. However, he found it odd there was no official announcement coming from Malacañang about his resignation. It was at this juncture when word about his resignation started to leak out, fueling rumors.
Domingo literally laughed at various speculations on his unexpected resignation. With less than a year left of the Aquino administration, rumors have it his sudden departure from the Aquino Cabinet was supposedly due to policy differences with the Finance Secretary. Some claimed Domingo resigned reportedly in order to join the presidential campaign of erstwhile Interior Secretary Mar Roxas II. “All rumors not true,” Domingo guffawed.
If there is one rumor that has some tinge of truthfulness, he concedes, it is about his personal health problem. The 61-year-old Domingo has gout trouble.
As DTI chief, Domingo has been one of the Cabinet members whose performance has been praised by the business community. He believes much of the trust and confidence of the business community has been largely attributable to President Aquino.
He described President Aquino as a “true leader” who makes hard policy decisions. The actions of the Chief Executive may not be popular to all, he pointed out, but the President was later proven right. But Domingo failed to give specific examples of these hard but unpopular Aquino decisions.
On guidance of P-Noy, he disclosed, the Philippines made sure the APEC Leaders’ summit would mainstream the micro-small and medium enterprises (MSME) in this year’s agenda on “inclusive growth” for all.
“It (APEC summit) will not just bring trickle down but give the ‘ramdam’ effect to the MSME where most of our people derive livelihood,” he pointed out.
As DTI Secretary, Domingo only knows too well the “ramdam” effect kicks in only if the public feels the presence of government, especially during times of crisis.
When unscrupulous traders take advantage to jack up prices of basic goods or hoard prime commodities for more profit, the DTI must ensure public interest is protected against these heartless businessmen. Equally, the “ramdam” effect of the full force of the law against them must apply.