Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts

Vol. VI, No. 2      February 12 - 18, 2006      Quezon City, Philippines

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Cabinet Revamp: Part of a Grand Design? 

Controversial allies by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have been designated to key positions in her cabinet. This, said Fernando Hicap of the fisher folk group Pamalakaya, is part of President Arroyo’s grand design to stay in power and to consolidate her forces by rewarding her allies for sticking by her side through thick and thin.

By Jhong dela Cruz
Bulatlat

Controversial allies by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have been designated to key positions in her cabinet. This, said Fernando Hicap of the fisher folk group Pamalakaya, is part of President Arroyo’s grand design to stay in power and to consolidate her forces by rewarding her allies for sticking by her side through thick and thin.

Six cabinet movements have transpired in a week: the appointment of Representatives Ronaldo Puno to head the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Rolando Andaya as budget secretary; the designation of former DILG Secretary Angelo Reyes to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Secretary Michael Defensor was moved from the DENR to the Office of the President; Western Samar Rep. Eduardo Nachura was appointed as chief legal counsel; presidential adviser Edgardo Pamintuan was placed as chairman of the Subic-Clark Area Development Council (SCAD); and Dr. Esperanza Cabral, former director of the Philippine Heart Center, is now secretary of the Department of Social Work and Development.

The appointments were announced last Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. This early, a few are already fulfilling what are expected of them while the others will likely follow suit.  

Who’s who

DILG Secretary Ronald Puno is president of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipino) or Kampi, the party formed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 1998. Puno was elected congressman of the 1st district of Antipolo City in 2004.

Puno served as assistant DILG secretary during the Marcos regime and was DILG chief to former President Estrada. 

His appointment, which came a month after the Lakas directorate met and finalized plans for Charter Change or Cha-cha, is seen as a catalyst by mobilizing the support of local authorities to the planned constituent assembly.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, a native of Bicol, belongs to a political clan from Camarines Sur.  He is in his third and last term as congressman.  Andaya’s appointment came at a time when the 2006 budget is undergoing deliberation before the Senate.

Former DENR Secretary Michael Defensor is a staunch ally of the President Arroyo. He defended the president in issues not even related to his former post as DENR secretary. His appointment as chief of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) did not come as a surprise.

Former Western Samar Rep. Eduardo Nachura and now chief legal counsel was a member of the prosecution team in impeachment proceedings against Estrada.  He was undersecretary for legal affairs of the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS) from 1994 to 1998. He was also a commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board for one year in 1993. Nachura headed the House committee on constitutional amendments during the 12th congress.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes was chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during Estrada's term.  He helped place Arroyo to the presidency when he withdrew support from Estrada in 2001. He was subsequently appointed as secretary of the Department of National Defense where he became controversial after the Oakwood mutineers implicated him to the series of bombings in Mindanao in 2002 allegedly to justify the request from the U.S. government of additional anti-terror funds.  As DILG chief, he ordered the siege at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan leading to the death of 22 inmates.   

Edgardo Pamintuan, now chair of the Subic-Clark Area Development Council (SCAD) was said to have took part in the reopening of peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in 2004. Under Arroyo’s term, he was appointed as general manager of the National Housing Authority.

Esperanza Cabral, a cardiologist and former head of the Philippine Heart Center filled up the position left vacant by former Secretary Dinky Soliman who bolted out from Arroyo’s camp and led the so-called Hyatt 10.

Another recent appointee is Commissioner Jose Mario Buñag of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Buckling down to work

On his very first day, Secretary Puno has reportedly been seeking support for the Arroyo administration’s Charter Change (Cha-cha) initiative from both chambers of Congress. Puno in media interviews, have expressed confidence that his group will get the required three-fourths vote from the House of Representatives and Senate voting separately.  The 34-member Kampi aims to gather 195 signatures from both chambers of congress and senate.

Secretary Angelo Reyes immediately began an aggressive campaign to lure foreign investors into investing in the mining industry. The Arroyo administration is banking on the mining industry to bring in the much-desired foreign capital to prop-up the economy in spite of stiff opposition from cause-oriented groups and the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. 

Secretary Reyes is enticing foreign investors to set-up facilities for commercial mining operations in more than nine million hectares of "untapped, mineral-rich" lands across the country.   His department has identified some 24 mining ventures, which need about $8 billion in capital for minerals exploration in the next five to six years.

Budget Secretary Andaya is now at the center of controversy as the Arroyo administration expanded the coverage of Executive Order 464 to include the attendance of government officials in budget hearings. Senators charged that the non-attendance of cabinet officials will cause the failure of Congress to approve the 2006 budget.  This, they said, will lead to a reenactment of the 2005 budget and will enable the President to transfer funds from one office to another. With a more flexible appropriation, the President will need a reliable ally as budget secretary.  Also part of the 2006 budget is the proposed P5-billion Kilos Asenso Fund (Move towards Progress) and a P3-billion Kalayaan Fund (Freedom Fund), itemized for the DILG and DND---raw funds that are being eyed for use to jumpstart the government's campaign to drum up the Cha-Cha through a people's initiative.  

Grand design

Hicap said that  the new appointments are part of a “grand design” to enable Arroyo  to remain in power and consolidate her forces.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel in a January 13 press release said that the impending appointment of Ronaldo Puno is part of the preparations to influence, if not to directly manipulate, the result of the proposed plebiscite on Charter change (Cha-Cha).

"If Puno gets to assume the DILG post, then we may be seeing a replay of GMA's appointment of Virgilio Garcillano to the Commission on Election (Comelec), which we all know led to massive cheating in the 2004 elections," Pimentel said.

Bayan Muna representative Joel Virador for his part blasted Reyes for his “heartless stand on the environment and indigenous peoples in offering the country to unbridled foreign plunder of our mineral resources.”

“In appointing Reyes to the environment portfolio, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has sent the signal to the public that she will push for large-scale, foreign mining operations in the country. This appointment is also a declaration of war on the environment, our indigenous peoples and national patrimony,” Virador said.

 “With the background of the recent appointees, people can already see the reasons for their appointments…Arroyo cannot fool the people because they know she will do all she can to stay in power,” Hicap said.

Senators noted that cabinet officials due for confirmation have also refused to attend the hearings of the Commission on Appointments citing Executive Order 464.  This, critics say, may be part of the Arroyo administration’s attempt to circumvent the need for congressional approval to the new appointments. 

Hicap said, “These appointments and maneuvers will be political suicide for Arroyo…their appointments will be short-lived however the president keeps them intact because she will drag them down with her.” Bulatlat 

 

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